Free Spirits
by OceanSpiral
Summary: Sequel to Spirited. Two years after foiling Team Quantum's plans, Sienna is thrust back into the world of Pokemon training when she is given a proposition by her reformed father: four Johto league badges in exchange for a long sought after battle with him. Easy, right? Wrong. A new threat is hovering on the horizon, and Sienna soon finds she and her friends are at war once again.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Hi there.

My name's Sienna Volbeda, I'm 17, I'm a pastry chef in training and I've been a Pokemon trainer for two years now. I've got a "spirited" Ampharos named Meloi and five other Pokemon just as mad as she is. Heh, I know what you're thinking... Pretty unremarkable, right? Well… it is until I add one teeny-tiny, incy-wincy little fact in:

I once even saved the world.

I did, honestly! Really! Two years ago, in fact. There was a criminal organization, legendary Pokemon, fighting for your lives, stopping evil forces from taking over the world, everything. I almost died too. Really! I'm not actually joking!

But, hey. I guess I'm not here to talk about that, am I? I'm pretty sure you know all about it anyway.

I'm here to tell you about something else.

I remember when I was little, whenever I read a book, I found that, in most cases, after heroes and heroines save the world from all manner of evil villains and malicious plots, that's always it for them. After one adventure, nothing else interesting ever happens to them ever again. I always found this a little strange. There's a happy ending, and then that's it. No more adventures. As a kid, I reckoned that if these people were so strong and amazing, they would _always _have incredible adventures. I thought that one great story would always make another and another, and just go on forever. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen too often, does it?

Well it happened to me.

On the day of my 17th birthday, to be exact.

I couldn't believe it. I was starting to think I was cursed when it came to birthdays. I mean, think about it! Two birthdays in the space of three years ruined by unexpected news that would breed into something a lot bigger than anyone could have _ever _anticipated. Talk about bad luck, huh?

Last time, on my 15th birthday, I found my house empty and a note from my mother telling me she had gone chasing after my estranged father. You all know the history, so I won't bore you with too much detail. You know, my dad that owned the Pokemon dojos, wasn't exactly your "model father" growing up, got involved with a criminal organization against his will, ended up going mad for the power, attempted to capture Legendary Pokemon and then got thrown in jail for it. Yeah. That guy.

I thought I'd never have to have anything to do with him again. And to be honest, I kind of had mixed feelings about it. My father was a headcase, there was no denying that. Hyper-critical, pushy and even violent towards me as a child, and then a member of a criminal organization to catch legendary Pokemon when I was older. However, something seemed to change in him towards the end of my first adventure. He revealed he had only ever joined the organization because he was forced to, on pain of my death, and my mother's death. Somehow though, that all changed after he did join, the power made him mad and he revelled in his status as a high ranking criminal. But then, right at the end, faced with the knowledge everything around his was falling apart, he seemed to change. There was some almighty shift in him. I could see it happening right in front of me. And that's why; against everything I had ever thought about him, I protected him.

I thought I'd never understand why I did that. I had always hated my father, for how he treated me as a child, and what he did in the organization he was a part of. And I especially didn't think I would ever come to understand _him_. Understand him and his motives. He was thrown into jail, along with the rest of the people in the criminal organization and I thought I'd never see him again.

But that day, on my 17th birthday, I was celebrating, hanging out with my family, friends and Pokemon, when my mother delivered me some unbelievable news. Dad had been released from prison, was living in Goldenrod City in the Johto region, had opened up a dojo and to my intense shock, wanted to see me.

I almost didn't want to go at first. But my curiosity was so deep; I found I just couldn't ignore it. I saw it as an excuse to take off and go around Johto with my friends like the old days, getting some answers as I went. Another adventure.

Only now I see how foolish I was. After everything that happened after that, I kind of wish I _hadn't _gone. Yeah, sure… I had some fun times. I met some cool people and Pokemon. I had another adventure. I even learned the truth about my dad. The truth about everything. But there was a hard price I had to pay for it…

I can't even think about it now without getting upset. I just keep thinking about how I could have changed things. My desire to get answers to the questions I had, just led to more questions, the answers to which I doubt I'll never find now. The events that day left me even more confused than I had ever been before. Now, whenever I think about my father, I just feel guilty. Guilty, empty, sad, numb… you name it, I've felt it.

But I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear my whining. You want to find out what the hell I'm talking about, huh? You're just like me when I was a kid, after finishing a book, wanting to read more and more to find out what happened next. Well, this is kind of like the sequel to an adventure story you and I may have read as a kid. There are evil men, a criminal organization, fighting for your lives, people trying to take over the world, and yes… even legendary Pokemon.

Only this time, I'm not much of a heroine.

And the happy ending? The staple of all childhood adventure books?

It's bittersweet, at best.


	2. A New Chapter

My head was reeling as I listlessly packed my bags alone in my room. Clothes, tent, Pokemon supplies, food, medicine… I was on autopilot as I folded things and stuffed my bag full of everything I needed. My Pokeballs swung rhythmically from my hip as I worked. I couldn't help but feel like it had been such a long time since I wore a Pokeball belt, with all six of my Pokemon there. It felt like such a long time since I had been a _proper _Pokemon trainer. After the events of two years ago, my Pokemon training had taken a back seat. In fact, I can count on one hand how many times I battled or trained with them after I came home from Hoenn. They became my friends again, not tools to complete whatever goal I had, and I let them run free and happy in the discarded dojo that was still joined onto the back of my house, or in Professor Oak's lab.

I found myself thinking about that dojo. It had been boarded up once Dad left, but I had taken it upon myself to reopen it when I realised my Pokemon needed space to run around. It had taken a long time and a lot of hard work, but it had been worth it when my Pokemon managed to get a little freedom away from their Pokeballs. It had been strange, entering there for the first time since I was around twelve or thirteen. Every time I set foot in there, memories of my father resurfaced in me… seeing him in the middle of fierce battles with the other men that trained there, teaching young boys and girls the basics of training with Fighting Pokemon, the uncharacteristic smiles on his face as the responded to his teaching… and the blank looks of disappointment whenever he saw me…

Dad…

Thoughts of his summons to Johto came back to me. Thoughts of what I was about to do filled my mind. Half of me was determined to get to Johto and find out exactly why my father all of a sudden wanted to see me so much, but the other half was telling me to stay home, that it wasn't worth it. It had been one and a half years since the showdown with the criminal organization, and I still hadn't totally come to terms with it. It was like the stuff of kids' books, the kind I'd read as a child. I mean, you've got your villain going about trying to take over the world by capturing Legendary Pokemon, your epic final showdown where the real villain was revealed, an Arceus right out of legend appearing to sort everything out, and a happy ending where the bad guys go to jail and the good guys go home.

"_Stop thinking about it, Sienna_…" I told myself firmly, closing my bag. "_What good will thinking about the past do? Snap out of it_."

But I couldn't snap out of it. The mysteriousness of why my father wanted to see me circled around my brain, clawing and demanding my attention. Somehow, I found myself doubting that my father was a "reformed character" like they claimed. I didn't buy it. Yes, he may have come to his senses and seen that being in the criminal organization was a bad idea, but I doubted that even that would have changed the man he is innately. Arrogant, violent and abusive… people don't lose those kinds of traits just like that.

"Sienna?" a voice suddenly snapped me into my senses and I turned around to see my mother standing at the door.

"Mum?" I blinked stupidly.

"Are you packed?"

I cast an eye back at my bulging bag. "More or less."

"The girls and Scott are waiting downstairs for you. Elliot said he'll be back in a few minutes. He's just gone to get some things for the trip."

I nodded, turning away to look at my bag again. "Yeah… I'll be down in a few minutes."

I expected her to leave at that point, but she crossed across to my bed and sat down. She picked up the small, tatty, worn, pink Clefairy plush doll I'd had since I was really little and stroked it for a few seconds. She then looked up at me sympathetically. "Are you okay, darling?"

"I'm fine. I think." I said, with a nod of my head. "I just… I want to go and see him… to get answers, you know? I don't think he's a "reformed character" at all… but still… I want to go and see what he has to say for himself. Besides," I said with a little grin. "It does give me a chance to go Pokemon training again. I haven't done that in so long."

My mum grinned at me before hugging me. "My beautiful girl… be careful, all right?"

"I will be, mum." I said, suddenly struggling to keep composed. "Well, look on the bright side… at least I know what I'm chasing after this time around!"

"Cheeky!" Mum batted at me with her hand. "I had to do what I did! It's not my fault you've always been a stubborn, determined little sod and just _had _to follow me!"

"Well, I wonder where I got that from!" I replied with a grin.

"Hmm…" Mum said, crossing her arms and shaking her head fondly. She then let out a sad sigh. "I'm sorry sweetie. Some birthday that day was, eh? In fact, some birthday _this _is!"

"I know!" I managed to grin, even though I found the situation incredibly annoying. I mean, two birthdays from the last three years ruined? "I think I must be cursed when it comes to birthdays!"

"You must be," she said bitterly.

It looked like she was about to say something else, but the sound of a door banging and someone shouting "Hello? Just me!" interrupted us. I recognised the voice immediately. That voice, even after two years, still made my heart flutter and made me weak at the knees even in the most unbecoming, bizarre or inappropriate situations. A little grin spread across my face despite myself. "That's Elliot back. We should probably go."

Mum visibly deflated. She set down my Clefairy doll on the dresser and stood up sadly. "Okay, darling…" she said with a sigh.

I shouldered my bag, double-checking I had everything. I made sure I had all six Pokeballs present and accounted for, swinging from my hips, before I eventually let myself breathe out. Satisfied, and mostly prepared, I left my room, closing the door behind me. Mum and I descended the stairs and entered the kitchen again. There, we found Elliot, Nikki, Jasmine and Scott, all shouldering bags, patiently waiting. As I jumped down from the last step, everyone broke into reassuring smiles, apart from Scott.

"Hey," Elliot said as I joined the group. "You good?"

"More or less." I smiled back.

"You contacted your school in Viridian?"

"Yeah, I've put in a leave of absence." I explained. "For two weeks. I mean, it shouldn't take us any more than a week or two, I would imagine."

"Mmm…" Elliot nodded in agreement.

As I was about to ask a question, Mum suddenly interjected. "How are you all getting to Johto?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but found that I didn't even know. I didn't even have the faintest clue. I knew Johto was a whole other region, but how to get there was beyond me. I cast blank looks in everyone else's directions, but they returned them, obviously as clueless as me. Well, apart from one person. To my intense surprise, Jasmine stepped forward, grinning.

"We're taking the SS Anne." She announced with a wicked smile. "Called in a favour to my Dad and he got us some tickets. They'll be waiting for us in Vermillion City."

This was all news to us and a collective gasp issued all around the room. The SS Anne was a luxury cruise ship that was normally reserved for travelling aristocracy. Tickets cost at least three or four times a regular ferry ticket would cost. I looked at Jasmine, stunned. How on earth had she done that? And so quickly too? And what the hell kind of contacts did her father have?

"The SS Anne!" Mum cried in shock, making sure she had heard right. "The luxury liner? That does trips to Johto now?"

"Yep!" Jasmine said with a grin. "My dad used to work with the guy that owns the ship! In fact, my dad helped out the guy with financial troubles and now he can get tickets any time he likes, free of charge! So, I called him up and got him to arrange five tickets!"

I was vaguely aware my mouth was hanging open, but I was past caring. "What kind of person _is _your dad that he can give _financial help _to the owner of a cruise liner!"

Jasmine shrugged. "He's some kind of banker… I think. I don't know, he doesn't talk about his work much."

"So… your family… is really rich, then?" Scott said in surprise.

Jasmine looked at him oddly. "Well yeah..." she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're telling me you guys didn't know this?"

We all shook our heads. "Jasmine, I'm pretty sure if you mentioned you were from a rich family, we would have remembered _that_!" I said, astounded.

"Come on, guys. Think about it? How could a rookie trainer who never set foot outside Kanto end up with a Marill, a Cyndaquil and a Skitty in their team?

"Ohhh…" I said, finally starting to understand. "Daddy bought them?"

Jasmine nodded. "Dad bought them for me after I got Heather. Rather reluctantly, I have to admit… he didn't want me to be a Pokemon trainer. He and Mum wanted me to be a refined lady who married into money, or a businesswoman."

"I could never picture you as a refined woman. Or a businesswoman." I said truthfully, looking at Jasmine. Yeah, sure, she was a pretty girl and to an unknowing eye you would think she was all shy and delicate, like Nikki. But anyone who knew her knew she was fiery and hot-headed with brute strength that could rival a Machoke.

"I know," Jasmine said. "So, I badgered Dad until he gave in. I mean, in all honesty, I wasn't even that interested in training and Pokemon to begin with. I just wanted to get out of that house."

"Wow…" I found myself saying in awe. I found it horribly strange that I had known Jasmine for almost two years now and I had no idea that she came from such a rich family! It was pretty amazing. I stood there for a few moments in awe, hardly able to contemplate this. I guess it did make sense… I had found it strange the first time I met Jasmine that she had three Pokemon that lived in other regions when she confessed she had never been out of Kanto! It also explained how much clothes she had…

"So… yeah!" Jasmine's voice cut through my thoughts again. "Dad's mailed the tickets to Vermillion Pokemon Centre for us. It leaves Vermillion port in four days and it'll take us straight to Olivine City."

"Awesome," Scott said with a grin. "That's real luxury! Almost makes up for having to travel with you guys…" he added, darkly this time.

While Elliot, Nikki and Scott celebrated at the thought of the free ride on such a luxury liner, I found myself praying to every God in existence that the crossing would be smooth, or at the very least the liner would be so big I wouldn't notice we were even travelling on water. Mum cast me a knowing look, understanding all too well my ever-present fear of water and distaste of boats. I sighed, deciding to keep my mouth shut. It was good of Jasmine's dad to get us tickets. I made a mental note to thank the man if I ever got the pleasure (?) of meeting him.

"Hey guys," Elliot cut in, passing a glance over the afternoon sun glowing weakly in the powder blue sky. "We should probably get going if we want to be in Pewter City by tonight. If does get dark pretty early now…"

At Elliot's words, I suddenly realised it would probably be a good idea to get a move on. Even though it was Spring and the days were beginning to stretch, the end of the day still had a nasty habit of creeping up on you unexpectedly like a thief in the night. And those nights were often bitterly cold and merciless... I wasn't entirely keen on having to camp out in those freezing temperatures. It made me wonder how I had dealt with it two years ago…

I pushed those thoughts from my mind. What was the point of thinking about the past now? I had to look to the future, no matter how strange and bizarre it may feel. A sense of anticipation clawed at me as I looked around my travelling companions.

"Come on guys. Elliot's right. We should go."

Everyone voice their agreement, and as we moved towards the door, my mother's voice cut in, making me hang back.

"Be careful, all of you." Mum warned, casting her experienced eyes over each one of us in turn. "Call me when you're in Vermillion. And again when you reach Johto. And when you see—"

"I know, I know," I cut in with a grin. "I will, Mum, I promise."

"Good," she said, giving me a hug. "Good luck everyone."

"Thanks Ms. Volbeda!" Elliot, Nikki and Jasmine chorused whilst Scott just muttered to himself.

"Look after each other and keep each other safe," Mum said firmly. She then looked straight at Elliot. "And don't _you _let anything happen to my baby girl, Elliot!"

"I won't, Ms. Volbeda, I promise." Elliot said with a good-natured grin whilst I cringed.

"Good. Cos if you do, I'll never let you marry her!"

"MUM!" I hissed, mortified, blushing bright red while Elliot spluttered, completely unsure of how to take that. Next to us, Jasmine, Nikki and Scott roared with laughter. "It's… it's a bit early to be thinking about that!" I insisted, feeling my face turn an attractive shade of beetroot…

Mum grinned with a cheeky sparkle in her eye. "If you say so. All right, go on. Be safe!"

"We will!" I promised, as we began to walk away. "See you soon!"

"Bye, darling!"

Elliot's hand took mine as we walked, and I grinned up to him. He was still blushing cutely from the marriage jibe my mother had come out with. Next to me, Nikki and Jasmine swooped in, and joining us right at the end came Scott. I felt strangely calm as we walked through Pallet Town. The watery April sun was shining down on us, a rare good day in the beginning of spring. My friends and I walked step in step as we crossed the green grassy knolls dotted with houses, of Pallet Town, the cool air tickled my face and long hair, and the giggles of my friends as they saw cute Pokemon rang in my ears. I felt strangely calm and serene, like the five of us were just going for a relaxing walk. It was like I hadn't quite realised what I was doing just yet…

"_Dad_…" I found myself thinking as we walked. My mind raced ahead to what was waiting for me in Johto. Dad was in Goldenrod City in a dojo he had just set up and had requested to see me. When I thought about it, it confused me greatly. I couldn't help but wonder why. Why he wanted to see me. "_What do you want of me…_?" I thought, staring up at the sky, as if it held the answer to all my questions.

"Sienna?" A voice cut through my thoughts. "Are you okay?"

I looked up at Elliot and smiled. "Yeah… yeah, I'm good. Honestly. I'm just thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself," Elliot grinned with a cheeky wink, planting a kiss on my forehead, making Scott murmur in disgust.

I batted him away, but grinning all the same. For a few moments, our party continued in silence. We walked the path out of Pallet Town, passing clusters of houses as we went. Little kids darted in and out of our feet, waving toy Pokeballs and carting around Pokemon plushies. I smiled at them. They looked so carefree and happy, their childish and innocent view of Pokemon still intact. I prayed they'd never see Pokemon used in the way I'd seen them… nothing more as tools for evil men to do their bidding…

My thoughts turned back to my father. _He _had done that. He had used Pokemon as nothing more than tools to do his bidding. He was a horrible man… so why was I doing this? Why was I going to Goldenrod to see him? And even more pressing, why did he want to see me?

"I can't believe this…" I found myself saying, to no-one in particular. "Going to Johto like this… I can't think what my Dad wants me for."

Nikki and Jasmine just gave me blank looks. They didn't know any more than I did. But they flashed me comforting smiles and I felt a little better. Scott, as I expected, said nothing. Then I felt a reassuring squeeze to my hand courtesy of Elliot. He pulled me closer and wrapped his arm around me, so I was nestled safely underneath his shoulder. "It'll be okay." He told me gently

I found his words made me feel instantly calmer and more at ease. That boy always knew what to say and do to make me feel better. I felt secure being with him, like nothing bad could ever happen to me. I squeezed his hand back. "I'll trust you," I said with a grin.

I looked forward into the horizon as we left the tiny town of Pallet behind. We were no longer strolling amongst people and houses, but walking across lush green plains. Tall grasses concealing all manner of Pokemon were springing up all over the place, telling us we were no longer protected by the safety of that little town. I could hear the familiar cries of Pidgey, Spearow and Rattata all around me. Typical Pokemon that rookies caught. Even as I thought that, I saw two young boys suddenly appeared from nowhere, brandishing Pokeballs. I watched in fascination as we walked past as one of the boys sent out a Squirtle to do battle with a Pidgey. The Pidgey fell victim to a surprisingly strong Tackle attack, and then the boy chucked a Pokeball at the dazed bird. The Pokeball closed around the Pidgey, and then quickly became motionless. A capture! The boy cheered with happiness at his success! He had caught his first Pokemon! I smiled at his cheerful, childish, enthusiastic happiness. It was so raw and innocent… I felt like I could watch it for hours.

I forced myself to keep moving. As I walked, a thought struck me. I found it bizarre to think that two years ago, I had left Pallet Town exactly like those boys. A total rookie, completely naïve to what a Pokemon journey would bring to me.

As I stared ahead I could already see the tips of Viridian Forest far off in the distance. I wondered what else lay ahead of me. I felt like a rookie trainer again, with no idea what would happen to me on my journey with Pokemon. I could only hope it wouldn't be as dramatic or as complicated as the _last _one. But I got the feeling that was only wishful thinking. A strange feeling washed over me as we continued. This was it. This was the start of something _big. _I knew it. Don't ask me how I knew it, I just did.

I struggled to compose myself, my head swimming with these bizarre thoughts. I pushed them away forcefully. I couldn't let myself jump to conclusions or get too ahead of myself. I had to focus on getting to Johto safely before I started to think about what awaited me there… I let out a sigh, releasing my pent up agitation.

"_Johto… here I come._"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**It's the 10th July! That means that one year ago today, I published the first chapter of Spirited! A year later, I never expected to have such a dedicated number of fans and I especially didn't expect to be publishing a sequel! Thank you all so, so much. **

**I couldn't believe the number of reviews I got for the Prologue. Thirteen! Amazing! Thank you all!**

**A couple of things first!**

**Looks like Sienna is winning on the popularity poll! Anyone who still hasn't voted, please put in a vote!**

**Also, I was thinking of publishing Spirited to my DeviantART. What do you guys think? I mean, look at the success publishing to DeviantART brought Digital Skitty... Should I expand into further territories?**

**I also have a chapter of an original fiction called "Artist's Hands" I'm thinking of publishing to Fictionpress. Thoughts?**

**Is there any requests for chapter ideas for A Spirited Extension? I'm gonna do Meloi's backstory, then Monty's. Any other ideas?**

**ArchXDeath: Haha! Here is the next chapter, submitted AFTER the prologue, as requested!**

**Something dictonairy related: Unfortunately not the first review, but thank you very much all the same! I'm glad you liked the intro!**

**eeveelutionluvr: Heh heh. I'm afraid you're gonna have to wait and find out to see what happens to Cal. :( Let's hope this one gets even a fraction of the success as Spirited!**

**StarlaMay: I was trying to go for more dark and twisted, so I'm happy you picked up on that! **

**Hikaru-Pichu: No, the world is definitely _not _all happy endings as we'd like to think. That's kind of what I'm going for in the sequel.**

**WildCroconaw: I hope I can do my best to deliever a good story for you!**

**Sniper Mudkip: Ahh, that's fair enough if you preferred the first one. Sienna's voice and attitudes have changed since Spirited, especially as she's older. It's also different cos she's using the Prologue to kind of sum up the whole story, so she's got the benefit of hindsight. Weird how my prologues are like endings and my epilogues are like beginnings...**

**Splashstorm: Hee hee! Thank you! I love your reviews, please keep them coming!**

**Chaison: Hee hee! Thank you!**

**Manser77: Thank you! :) **

**Annabelle the raikou: Thank you! I hope I can do a good job! Also I'm happy you liked the introduction!**

**TwewyReaperGirl: Thank you! I'll do my best!**

**May and Dawn are the best: Johto is one of my favourite reasons too! :) Thank you very much!**

**Wow... long author's note. **

**Please R&R! :)**


	3. Nostalgia

We reached Viridian in good time. I knew the route there like the back of my hand, having made the journey so often, and I was able to lead our strange little party without disturbing too many Pokemon, and avoiding trainers completely. When we arrived, we decided to stop off for a quick meal in one of Viridian's many restaurants to give us the energy to get through Viridian Forest. While the others gobbled up their food eagerly, I could only pick half-heartedly at mine. As time went on, I had to strike up a conversation. The silence was unnerving me.

"How long will it take us to get from Olivine to Goldenrod?" I asked no-one in particular, stabbing weakly at the pieces of meat in my lasagne.

"A day or so," Elliot said, wiping his face with vigour. He had completed the Johto gym circuit already and so knew his way around Johto quite well. "Can't see it being any longer than that, assuming we don't run into any distractions." He eyed me pointedly.

I was about to open my mouth and demand what the hell he meant by that, when a buzzing noise interrupted me. We all looked across the table at Nikki who blushed guiltily, quickly retrieving her phone. She silenced it by flipping it open and as she read the message she had received, a wide smile beamed across her face.

"Who is it?" I asked with a teasing grin, even though I already knew.

"Christian…" she said with a violent blush. "He says he's going to join up with us in Olivine…"

"Oh, right?" I said in surprise, thinking that was quite unexpected. But all the same, it warmed my heart to know that Christian and Nikki were _finally _going to be reunited after so long. "That's lovely…" I smiled warmly at her.

Jasmine on the other hand let out an annoyed grunt. "Great! So I gotta deal with _two _sets of happy couples now? As if dealing with _one _pair of lovey-dovey sweethearts isn't bad enough? Why is everyone in a relationship apart from me!" She then pointedly glared at Scott, the only other singleton on our table. She raised her eyebrows expectantly at him, and he immediately freaked out.

"YOU CAN FORGET IT!" Scott bellowed angrily. "You're, like, twice my age!"

"What! Only four years!"

"Yeah? That's old enough! You old bat!"

""Old bat?"" Jasmine screeched, insulted. "Need I remind you who's getting you to Johto? On the SS Anne!"

"Guys, guys, please!" I interjected quickly, as our table was getting some filthy looks from the other customers. "Come on, Jazz… you don't want a boyfriend just for the sake of having one! I mean… sometimes they're not all they're cracked up to be…" I said, casting a purposeful look in Elliot's direction.

"What? What did I do?" He asked indignantly, his mouth full of pasta. I had to duck in order to avoid being sprayed by half-eaten morsels.

"Do you really want me to tell you?" I said with a grin, before turning back to Nikki. "Nah, that's good that Christian's coming… you haven't seen him in a while, have you?"

"No. I mean… he's always so busy with contests in Sinnoh," Nikki said with a sad sigh. "Normally it isn't that bad cos _I'm _always so busy with contests and work and all that. It's just a bit hard when he's working and I don't get to see him…"

"Well, you'll get to see him now!" I grinned, and she beamed again, looking delighted.

I found the romance going on between Nikki and her boyfriend Christian Hart absolutely adorable. Jasmine had filled me in about their little relationship when I was still in hospital. Apparently, while Nikki and Jasmine had been searching for me (very badly, I have to add), they ran into two brothers by the names of Christian and Gabriel Hart. Nikki took a shine to Christian, and the two kept in contact over the course of the girls' search. He had even flown Nikki and Jasmine to Mt Chimney to help them find me. And it was then that Christian has kissed Nikki for the first time, as he stayed behind to keep the Pokemon trainers away so she and Jasmine could get into Mt Chimney. Of course, Nikki being Nikki, it took a long time for her to finally admit to Christian she had feelings for him. And even then, with Christian having so many priorities and dedications in other regions, the two never really got the chance to start their relationship until six months after they originally met. I had to admit, I was sort of sceptical about them being together, but as soon as I saw how happy they were in each other's company, I couldn't help but warm to them as a couple. They were so well-suited to each other. I had never seen Nikki happier then when she was with Christian.

After we finished eating and paid, the five of us left the tiny Italian restaurant, our sights set on Viridian Forest. Memories of my last trip into Viridian circled my brain as we progressed cautiously through the forest. Last time I had been in Viridian Forest I was right at the beginning of my journey. I was just a rookie, naïve and innocent about training and battling, and I'd only been travelling for about a week. Even weirder to think was that, back then, I only had one Pokemon: Meloi. And she was still only a Mareep at the time. That felt strange. I was so used to seeing Meloi as a big, strong, tough Ampharos, and having five other energetic Pokemon running me ragged.

Viridian Forest was dark and dank, alive with the cries, calls and buzzing of the various Bug and Flying Pokemon that lived there. A thick canopy of trees hung overhead, blotting out any natural light. The crisp, dry leaves underneath our feet crunched as we walked and we sounded like a marching band as we progressed. I kept Elliot's hand firmly in mine as we carried on. I was like a little kid, needing to hang onto something solid.

As we got deeper and deeper into the rustling forest, it got darker and darker until you couldn't even see a hand in front of your face. The chirrups and buzzing seemed to intensify too, until the point we were all feeling more than a little bit nervous. Low hanging branches, and thin, creepy shadows only added to my worried spirit. I remembered travelling through Viridian Forest two years ago. I hadn't found it creepy or scary back then… I had found it more frustrating than anything else. Frustrating due to the fact I couldn't find the way out and that Meloi, whenever she got angry, was still in the mindset of shocking anything and everything. But it all felt different this time. Now I felt nervous and jumpy, like it had all of a sudden occurred to me just how dangerous what I had done two years ago really was…

I jumped as a Pokeball suddenly hit the ground and exploded in white light.

"Blaze, come out!"

We all welcomed Nikki's decision to release her trusted Charmeleon Blaze to light up the area. I had a strong suspicion none of us liked the idea of walking through Viridian Forest in the dark, but no-one aside from Nikki was willing to set aside their pride, admit their fear and do something about it. The Charmeleon's tail fire sent a good size light illuminating into the inky blackness and we were able to continue on quite comfortably for a while. Eventually, even Blaze's tail fire wasn't enough and Jasmine had to release her Quilava Sulphur to help. His fiery mane added another blast of light, casting everything in a warm glow. With that, we were able to walk somewhat confidently through the rustling forest, following Elliot's lead. He had been through this forest so many times that he knew it like the back of his hand. As we walked, I looked around at the thin, shadowy outlines of trees and saw the faint figures of Caterpie and Weedle scurrying up and down. They seemed happy enough and ignored us, carrying on with their business like we weren't even here.

I was happy we didn't meet too many Pokemon on our travel through. We did have one hairy incident with a Venomoth that was attracted to the fiery lights coming from Sulphur and Blaze. However, the two Fire Pokemon easily chased off the giant purple moth with a few weak Ember attacks. Of course, this was _after _I freaked out and ducked behind Elliot, screeching like a little girl, much to Scott's amusement.

We carried on regardless. My heart was beating hard against my chest and I was constantly on the lookout for any other Bug Pokemon, my hand poised on Meloi's Pokeball, just in case. I wasn't taking any chances.

I was relieved when we all caught sight of a glowing light in the distance. Finally! We had found the exit! We scurried towards it, desperate to get out. We then emerged from Viridian Forest, just outside Pewter City. We realised as we came out of Viridian Forest that it was dark by this time, almost night. The temperature had dropped too, and we all shuddered at the noticeable coldness.

"Come on, it's not far from the Pokemon Centre," Elliot said with a shiver.

We hurried to the Pokemon Centre as fast as we could. When we got there, and stepped inside sighing with relief at the warm presence enveloping us, we found it alive with Pokemon trainers. Screaming, hyper, over-excited Pokemon trainers with just as many noisy Pokemon at their heels. I raised my eyebrows in annoyance at the sheer sight of them. They all looked no older than ten or eleven, probably rookies. It was then I realised that only a few weeks back, the latest set of coming-of-age trainers had left on their journeys. It certainly looked like Pewter City was _the _place to be for screaming, annoying, rookie ten year olds and their party of one Pokemon…

"_Jeez, Sienna… listen to you! You were at that stage once before, you know_?" I scolded myself as our party drew up to the Pokemon Centre desk.

As I stood in that Pewter City Pokemon Centre, a sense of déjà vu engulfed me and a swarm of memories came rushing back. I looked around the whole of the centre, my eyes darting, eventually coming to a stop to look at the vending machines standing at the corner of the room.

"Bring back memories?" Elliot teased me.

"Shut up!" I grinned, pushing him lightly. When I saw Jasmine, Nikki and Scott staring back at me blankly, I explained. "Elliot and I met here. Right over by that vending machine, actually." I grinned, pointing it out.

"Romantic…" Jasmine commented dryly.

"Oh, definitely!" Elliot grinned. He then looked down at me. "You were beating up that vending machine, if my memory serves me right."

I blushed. "Yeah…"

"Why were you beating up a vending machine?" Scott had to ask.

"It… it ate my money," I said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Of course it did," Scott sighed.

"And then you challenged me to a battle," Elliot grinned, wrapping his arm around my waist. "A little greenhorn of a trainer challenging an Elite right off the bat like that…"

"All right, all right," I said, pushing him away with a grin. "Stop embarrassing me!"

"Oh, but it's so _easy_!"

"Hey, guys, put a sock in it!" Jasmine called from the centre desk. "We're already getting enough odd looks from all these rookies as it is! I doubt you pair smooching all over the place is helping any!"

"Sorry," I called back sheepishly.

I walked back up to the counter, where Jasmine was speaking to Nurse Joy, arranging rooms. Scott was busying himself buying can after can of soda pop whilst Nikki lectured him about "rotting his teeth". I found it hilarious seeing Nikki attempt to scold her fourteen year old brother, but he was at that rebellious age that meant no matter how much he had listened to his sister in the past, that all meant _nothing _nowadays. I turned around to see Elliot accessing the PC nearby. What he was doing I didn't know…

"Two rooms then," Nurse Joy asked sweetly a few minutes later, handing over the keys.

"You sure it's _wise _to put Elliot and Scott together?" I muttered to her as we collected the stragglers and walked up to our rooms. "I mean, we really don't want Scott to get too big for his boots and try to challenge Elliot? I think he still thinks he has something to prove against Elliot... I mean, he _did _vow to battle him..."

"They'll be fine…" Jasmine said flippantly. "But hey, isn't this awesome? Us three girls travelling together again, like the old days?"

"Yeah. I guess it is."

"Just don't pull another disappearing act on us!"

"Hey, I apologised for that!"

"I'm kiddin'!" Jasmine giggled, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "Although… I do wonder how come you wanted all of us to come with you this time? I thought you would want to go yourself."

I could only shrug. I hadn't really thought too much about it myself. But now that Jasmine had planted the idea in my head, I couldn't help _but _wonder why I asked everyone to come with me. I was a deeply independent person; I knew that much for a fact. It was a bit of a gift and a curse, if you know what I mean? And I knew that what lay between my dad and I was nobody else's business but mine.

But I was painfully aware of a couple of other facts. The most pressing of these was the fact I hadn't trained in two years. My Pokemon hadn't had to worry about the problems and stresses of battling, and grew accustomed to a life of comfort and freedom. I wasn't sure how they were going to take to suddenly being back on the road again…

Another reason I knew I wanted company was because I was still sceptical that my father was a "reformed character" like the Officer Jenny had said. I couldn't help but think, even after what he had told me about why he had joined the organization in the first place, and after he had protected me, that he was just making this all up to trap me, or ambush me, or something horrible. Mum was right… I couldn't automatically trust him because he protected me once, or revealed he had only ever joined the organization because Nathan threatened to kill his wife and child. The facts still remained. No matter how much I was confused about his motives, or actions, I had to listen to the facts. Dad still went mad with power. He still did all those horrible things. He was still so mean to me when I was trying to stop him. He still captured those legendary Pokemon…

I couldn't trust him. And if I couldn't trust him, I had to bring backup. Just in case.

* * *

><p>That night, I was completely restless and ill at ease. It felt strange being back in a Pokemon Centre room. I wondered why I had ever missed them. The beds were hard and lumpy, the room was either freezing or boiling and you could hear everything that went on in the adjoining rooms. But I had to admit, it was companionable, being in a room with my friends again. It was nice to hear their breathing or occasional sleepy muttering as I lay in my bed, staring up to the ceiling.<p>

But I still couldn't sleep.

Sighing, I got up, pushed back my bedclothes, pulled on my jeans, a t-shirt and shoes and silently left the room. I figured if I couldn't sleep I would do something constructive. Going out for a walk seemed like the best option.

The Pokemon Centre was completely deserted as I padded slowly down the hall, and slipped back out into the lobby. The nurse was sitting behind her desk, her eyes glued to the tiny TV screen showing late night programmes. It was easy for me to stroll past and leave, completely undetected.

I stepped out into the cold air. It hit me like a punch in the face and I had to pull my sweater further around me. I bounced up and down a bit, trying to warm up. As I let out a breath, it misted in front of my face, spreading like mist before evaporating away. I found myself giggling inexplicably at this. Boy, it was a cold night… I hadn't remembered an April night this cold before…

I took a few tentative steps forward into the icy embrace of the night. I shivered, but refused to let that deter me. I looked up into the dark sky, feeling like I could lose myself in its inky depths. My Pokeballs clinked together as I moved. As I suddenly became aware of their presence, a thought occurred to me. I hadn't even released my Pokemon to tell them what we were doing. They had been surprised when I had recalled them to their balls all of a sudden earlier today, but I had done that without even telling them what I was doing. They were probably worried, and most likely annoyed, that they had been kept in their Pokeballs for so long.

"Maybe now is a good time to tell them," I murmured to myself, snapping the balls off the belt.

One-by-one I threw them to the ground. Out popped an Ampharos, a Sealeo, a Persian, a Growlithe, a Girafarig and a Vibrava. Each Pokemon yawned sleepily, looked around their surroundings, reacted in various ways of surprise and then all began promptly freaking out.

"Guys, guys, shush!" I hissed as they all started making too much frantic and panicked noise in the face of these new surroundings. I was horrifically aware of the fact it was two in the morning and these Pokemon of mine were making enough noise to wake the dead.

They all stopped obediently, thank God, and then looked up to me with wide, confused eyes. I sighed and knelt down to their level. "Sorry I didn't tell you guys about this before now. It kind of happened suddenly…"

"Amph! Amph!" Meloi protested angrily. I knew immediately what she was asking me.

"Easy girl, I'm getting to it." I sighed. I sat down on the cold paving stone of Pewter City, feeling a cold shudder go through me. The cold started seeping through me like an unpleasant, uncomfortable damp. "See… my dad…"

As soon as I said that word, Kiba began growling. Even worse, sparks started forming all around Meloi and I had to shuffle backwards to avoid being hit by them. "Stop that," I scolded them before continuing. "He's been released from prison. He wants to see me. In Goldenrod City in Johto. So… so that's where we're going."

That really irked them. No sooner had the words left my lips than Monty's fur began to bristle, Kiba resumed his growling, Meloi continued to send sparks off in all directions, Cairo let out an indignant buzzing noise, Indigo pawed the ground angrily and even a look of fury spread over Aurora's normally cheerful little face. I winced. My Pokemon really did look fierce at times! Even _I _was intimidated, and I was their trainer. "I know, I know," I said, spreading my hands, trying to talk them round. "But I had to go and see him. I want answers, guys. That's it."

They all looked at me disparagingly.

"Sorry!" I said nervously. "But I've got to do this. Okay? I've got to get answers."

They didn't look impressed, so I tried one last time. "B…besides… it's another adventure, guys! I know you all want to get back out into the world and go on adventures, same as I do! I feel so bad I haven't been able to train you or anything like that in ages…"

My Pokemon exchanged looks. Kiba then tottered up to me, whining. He butted his head into my leg and I stroked him affectionately. My other Pokemon seemed calmer and more content now. I took that as a sign they had accepted what I had to do.

I forced myself to my feet, as the cold stone I was sitting on was murder against my thinly clothed body. "Come on. Let's go for a walk."

So, with that, me and my team of six Pokemon started a casual stroll around Pewter City. Well, as casual as you could get for a walk at two in the morning with six hyper Pokemon quite intent on causing mischief. I had to keep both eyes, plus one in the back of my head, on all of them at the same time. They were frolicking about, darting in between one another, not even bothered by the cold or the time.

"Hey, guys, look!" I stopped them as we came across a makeshift battlefield not far from the Pokemon centre. I grinned down at Meloi. "Remember this, Meloi?"

"Amph! Amph!" she cheered happily, running down to one side of the battlefield.

I grinned. While I was busy with Meloi, my other Pokemon amused themselves by running around, playfully tackling each other to the ground, attacking one another and engaging in general mischief. I gave them orders to stay where they were, and feeling confident they would listen; I jogged up to join Meloi. She was standing at the far end of the battlefield, hopping up and down and pointing at the centre of the grassy expanse. I knew immediately what she was getting at, and I patted her on the head. That's right." I said with a smile. "This is where you and I battled Elliot and Jet almost two years ago…"

"Amph!"

"You were just a baby Mareep back then," I grinned, casting my mind back to the little ball of static-y fluff that Meloi used to be. "We didn't even know how strong Elliot was… yet we took him on anyway."

"Ampha! Ros! Ros!" Meloi cuddled into me.

"I can't… I can't really believe it's been two years…" I mused, a warm feeling of nostalgia washing over me.

"Ros!"

"How silly was that…" I wondered aloud. "Elliot was… _is _such a strong trainer. Man…!"

I cringed as I realised how stupid I had been. What kind of an idiot challenged a trainer that was obviously horribly strong and _way _out of their league? Anything could have happened to me back then! Anything! If it had been anyone else other than Elliot, who thankfully was someone I knew, I could have gotten off a _lot _worse. I hadn't thought about it before now, but I really had been a liability back then. Charging off on my own after the vaguest of notes to a whole other region with only one Pokemon, getting involved with dangerous Legendary Pokemon and a plot to rule the world… it sounds mental! Of course, I had thought over my adventure over the years that had followed it, but it was only now that I realised how reckless I had been… how easily I could have been killed. I made a mental note right then and there that I would never put myself or anyone else in danger like that ever again. I just prayed that this time around, things would be calmer and safer… But again, a little niggling voice sprung up in the back of my mind, telling me that wasn't about to happen.

I found I had to sit down. My head was swimming again. I looked around until I caught sight of a nearby bench. I sat down on it gingerly, wincing as the cold spread through me again. However, no sooner had I sat down, Meloi jumped up next to me. I stroked her affectionately, the cold air almost numbing me at this point. I shivered. Meloi instantly scurried in closer to me. The warmth of her body made me feel better and I cuddled her close. As I sat there, looking up at the night sky twinkling with stars, I felt strangely at peace. I felt a whole world away from the panic I had felt just moments before. My mind was inadvertently drawn to thoughts of my father, and the seemingly endless mystery of why he wanted me. But, sitting there, watching the tiny candle-like stars with my Pokemon there with me, I felt content. Content and sleepy.

I laid my head down on the bench, shimmying my body so that I was lying horizontally on the cold wood. I told myself I would only lie here for a few minutes, but before I knew it, my eyes were drooping. I closed them, for just a moment, and it proved fatal.

Sleep took me right then and there, on that bench in Pewter City.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**I normally wouldn't update so soon, but I have a couple of announcements to make:**

**1) Spirited is now on deviantART! The prologue and first two chapters are uploaded, and the rest will follow! Any of my readers who have deviantART, please show your support! The link for my deviantART is on my profile so pleaaaaase take a look! Please? I give you cookie... *offers Mareep shaped cookies***

**2) I've also uploaded a picture of the cast of Spirited as they look like at the conclusion of the fic (Apart from Meloi, as she's still a Mareep in the drawing cos I can't draw Ampharos!) The link for this is also found on my profile. Please check it out! *offers yet more Mareep shaped cookies***

**I don't know when the next update will be as I'm only halfway through the next chapter...**

**Sniper Mudkip: Haha! I totally expect people to be comparing Spirited and Free Spirits to each other, so I'm okay with that. I hope Scott gets a bigger role myself, but who knows...? **

**ArchXDeath: Spirited is uploaded on DeviantART! Haha! And yeah, I added a "I like them all!" option on the poll! I'll see what I can do with those backstories, I'm so bogged down with work for the moment!**

**Manser77: Yeah Sienna is a little dense when it comes to stuff like that. At the moment, I've scheduled Nikki and Jasmine to get a slight shake up or addition to their teams, not so sure about Sienna... I'll see what happens in the course of the fic.**

**May and Dawn are the best: I can never get tired of hearing you say "awesome work"! Thank you so much! :)**

**beatlesfan53: Thank you! I hope it doesn't disappoint!**

**Padfoot Arcanine: Aww thank you! I love your story too! Anyone who hasn't already, check out Padfoot Arcanine's story "Spotlight". I love it!**

**eeveelutionluvr: I know, a whole year! :O I can't believe it either...**

**TwewyReaperGirl: BEAM ME UP SCOTTY! HAHA! That made me laugh so much! :) And thank you for the internet cookies! How was your wifi battle? Did you win? :) **

**Please R&R! (And show your support for Spirited now on DeviantART!)**


	4. Learning Curve

The first thing I knew the following morning was that I was freezing.

Then, I was aware of someone of someone shouting my name. They were calling it over and over. It invaded my peaceful sleep and I groaned, wishing I could shut it off, like an alarm clock. But it didn't stop and I had no choice but to wake up properly and pay attention I blearily blinked my eyes open, trying to clear away the sleep and came face to face with a very worried looking Jasmine and Nikki.

As soon as I opened my eyes, Nikki let out a sigh of relief . "Sienna!" she cried, throwing her arms around me.

"The hell…?" I murmured sleepily, in confusion. "What's going on?"

"We'd thought you'd run off again!" Nikki sounded on the verge of tears.

"Run off…?" I said dumbly as Nikki let me go. "No, I just…" I suddenly realised where I was. Half sitting, half lying on a bench in the middle of Pewter City with a still sleeping Meloi lying next to me, as the sun was slowly inching over the horizon, casting watery light across the stony city. "I just… fell asleep out here."

"Well, we can see that." Jasmine sighed, crossing her arms. "You almost gave us a heart attack when we woke up and you weren't here."

It was then I realised that both of the girls who stood in front of me were still in their pyjamas. Nikki in long white and blue checked pyjamas, and Jasmine in a tank top and pink shorts. Both had trainers hastily crammed on their feet and their hair was sticking up all over the place. As funny as the situation was, I still felt guilty. They had obviously woken up, found that I was missing and darted straight out to find me. "I'm really sorry guys…" I said, sitting up and stretching. I heard my joints give satisfying cracks as I did so. "I just went out for a walk cos I couldn't sleep."

Panicking, I suddenly remembered I had released my Pokemon that night too. I quickly darted my head around, looking for them. As I caught sight of each one, I recalled them, taking a headcount. Meloi, check. Kiba, check. Aurora, check. Cairo, check. Monty and Indigo, check, check. Letting out a relieved sigh, I focused my attention back to Nikki and Jasmine. I shot them a wary smile. "Shall we go back inside?"

"That would be lovely." Jasmine said icily. She was casting furious glances at anyone passing by who dared to look at her, standing in her pyjamas, looking like she'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. "I don't want to have stand out here looking like an idiot any longer."

Nikki nodded silently.

Th three of us made our way back. While Jasmine and Nikki hot-footed it back to the Centre, trampling everything in their path like a herd of Rapidash, I took a more leisurely pace. Pewter City looked so different in the daytime. The pearly and metallic greys looked almost pretty in the early morning sun… Pewter City hadn't changed at all in the two years. It had stayed solid and unchanging, just like the rocks and stones it represented. I found it so strange that some things changed at the drop of a hat, and others stayed strong even at the test of time…

When I eventually reached the Pokemon centre, I discovered it was only a little after seven in the morning. I found it strange Nikki and Jasmine had even been up at that time. What I found even weirder was a fully dressed Scott moving around the deserted Pokemon Centre lobby. Deciding that there really was no point in going back to bed, I walked up to Scott who was standing at the counter.

"Good morning, Scott!" I called cheerily as I approached.

He stopped, staring at me. "What are you doing up so early?"

"I could say the same for you," I grinned.

"Hmph." He muttered. "I'm swapping my team around."

"Oh right," I said, interest piqued, coming closer to him.

Indeed, he was working at the PC. A tiny CD drive popped out from the computer, a Pokeball shaped indent carved into the drive. He placed a Pokeball onto it, tapped a few buttons on the keypad and the drive disappeared back into the main body of the PC. The screen flashed for a few seconds, and then the drive ejected again, revealing a different Pokeball. He picked it up, inspected the Pokeball and replaced it on his belt. He repeated this process a few times until he had replaced four Pokeballs.

"Wow…" I said in awe when he was finally done. "You must have a lot of Pokemon."

"A fair few." He said evasively. "Probably more than you've got."

He intended that to be a dig at my expense, but I laughed it off. "Yeah, you probably do! I mean, you've been all around Hoenn _and_ around Kanto? You must have loads of tough and rare Pokemon!"

Scott eyed me suspiciously, like he was trying to figure out if I had some ulterior motive for speaking to him. "Yes. I suppose so. But I haven't just got Hoenn and Kanto Pokemon. I even have some from Johto, Sinnoh and Unova too."

"Really?" I asked, genuinely interested. "How did you manage that?"

Scott sighed. I could tell he really wasn't interested in talking to me. A typical angsty fifteen year old, I reckoned. But then with a laugh I remembered that had been me two years ago, so I couldn't talk. "You'd be surprised how many people from the other regions want Pokemon from other places. It's not all that difficult to catch some really common Kanto or Hoenn Pokemon and get trades for them over the GPS."

I nodded approvingly. "Well, cool. I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to seeing what Pokemon you have!" I grinned nervously. While Scott had released his pokemon in my house the previous day, while we were all still celebrating my birthday, I hadn't paid much attention to what he actually _owned_. I was too excited to even notice. Which I consider strange when I realised how much I didn't even know about Scott…

As unbelievable as it sounds, I had never actually seen Scott battle since the first time I met him two years ago. After he left to take on the Hoenn circuit, we lost contact with him until he reappeared one day in his and Nikki's hometown of Fuchsia. He was angry and upset, and he never told anyone why. Nikki eventually got it out of him that he had attempted to take on the Hoenn Elite Four, but had failed at the first member. His pride had taken such a dent that he locked himself away in his room for weeks on end, refusing to see or speak to anyone. Even after he eventually emerged, he barely stuck around for a few days before throwing himself into beating the Kanto Gym Circuit. He managed it, of course, but for some reason, just days before he was due to challenge the Elite Four, he pulled out. He never gave a reason why, either. He just threw himself back into training. And three days ago, two days before my 17th birthday, was the first time I had seen him since he had left.

He was eyeing me darkly now. "I'm not gonna show you right _now_. I want breakfast first."

I laughed nervously. "I'm cool with that!"

He grunted, before stomping off in the direction of the dining room. As he left, I breathed out. Just standing around that boy made me nervous. He was always so tense and wound up. It was almost like he didn't want to be here. I wondered what on earth had made him come along if he didn't even seem remotely interested…

"Hey. Good morning!"

I almost jumped six feet in the air as a voice cut through my thoughts. I turned around to see Elliot. He too was fully dressed and looking like he was ready to set out, even at the early hour. "He…hey! Good morning!" I said, trying to mask my surprise.

Elliot grinned at me. "Sleep all right?"

"Umm…" I faltered, deciding it probably would be best to keep my little camp out in Pewter City to myself for the moment. I had already panicked Jasmine and Nikki. My life wouldn't be worth living if I panicked Elliot too. "Yeah. Yeah, I slept fine. You?"

"Pretty good," he nodded. "Not really happy to be up this early, but hey. It's a long way to Cerulean… we've got to get there by tonight if we want any chance of reaching Vermillion in time for the SS. Anne."

"Oh yeah…" a nasty thought struck me as I mentally planned out the route to Vermillion. "We've gotta go through Mt Moon, haven't we?" I said with a dejected sigh.

"Well… I don't know so much," Elliot said with a sigh. "I was wondering if we could maybe fly to Cerulean..."

"Yeah!" I cried eagerly. "Like last time! When we flew on Dragonite!" Man, this nostalgia fest was only intensifying as time went on.

"Well, not on Dragonite!" Elliot laughed. "He's with Lance at the moment. I was thinking Tropius can easily carry me and you, and possibly one of the girls. "

"But what about the other two?" I asked immediately.

Elliot thought about it. "Do they have any Pokemon that can fly?"

I pondered this, cycling mentally through Nikki and Jasmine's teams. While my Cairo could fly, he definitely wasn't big enough to carry _anyone _just yet. And so far as I knew, there weren't any other flying Pokemon among me or the girls. "I don't think Nikki and Jasmine do. I'm not altogether sure about Scott. We can always ask him."

"Well, if worst comes to worst I can just make two trips," Elliot said with a non-committal shrug. "It'll still be quicker than traipsing through Mt Moon."

"Mmm…" I echoed his thoughts as we walked in to breakfast.

We sat at the same table Scott was sitting at. He was scarfing down his breakfast like there was no tomorrow. I casually spread butter onto a piece of toast and then added a smear of strawberry jam. Elliot watched me, repulsed, as I ate.

"Butter _and _jam? Eww, how can you eat that?" he said with a shudder.

"I open my mouth and chew." I replied seriously, before taking another giant bite.

Elliot grunted, and then turned to Scott, engaging him in conversation about Flying Pokemon. As I crunched up my toast, I saw Jasmine and Nikki come across to join us. This time, they were fully dressed, primped to perfection and hopefully, in better moods. They sat opposite us, offered us a "good morning" and started scoffing cereal.

After eating our breakfast, we discovered that yes; Scott did indeed own a Flying Pokemon. It was a Pidgeot, only recently evolved from a Pidgeotto. We were a little concerned at the fact it had only evolved the previous week, but Scott assure us not to worry. He claimed it was definitely strong enough to support his weight and either Nikki or Jasmine's. After a bit of debate, it was decided that Nikki and Scott would fly together, whilst Elliot took charge of Jasmine and I on his Tropius. We were all quite enthusiastic about flying. It would cut the journey time in half, giving us enough time to grab lunch in Cerulean before heading down the familiar route to Vermillion.

As I packed my bag away getting ready to leave immediately, I found it strange that my journey, so far, had mirrored my previous one almost exactly. The route to Pewter City, travelling by air to Cerulean and then heading to Vermillion to catch a ferry. It was pretty weird, I had to admit…

I didn't have a lot of time to think about it though. Soon enough, I joined everyone outside the Pokemon Centre as soon as I had finished packing. Scott was standing idly next to what was probably the biggest Pidgeot I had ever seen in my life. I almost dropped with fright when I saw the sheer size of it. It stood taller than even Elliot! And it wasn't just tall, it was wide too. It looked… it looked like it was carrying a bit of weight around its chest and tummy area that shouldn't be there. It dwarfed Scott's already fairly small frame and as I cranked my neck upwards to look at it, it surveyed me suspiciously with black beady eyes. I swallowed nervously. I found myself glad I wasn't going to be riding on that thing.

Jasmine let out a low whistle as she caught sight of the giant Pidgeot. "That's one big Pidgeot. What the hell did you feed it?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary…" Scott said evasively.

"Really…?" Jasmine grimaced. "I'm not an expert on Pidgeot… but I know they're not meant to be _that_ size."

"Does it matter!" Scott snapped.

"Uh… well… no… I guess not." Jasmine said with a careless shrug. "I was just thinking you might wanna put that thing on a diet. It's a bit fat…"

Annoyance flashed over Scott's face. "Shut up!" He yelled. "My Pidgeot is not fat!"

"I'm surprised he can get off the ground…" Jasmine said darkly.

"Shut up! He was a big Pidgeotto so now he's a big Pidgeot!"

"Pfft. Whatever you say." Jasmine said with an airy sigh.

Scott growled before comically trying to straddle the giant Pidgeot's girth, shimmying upwards until he was seated on its back, clinging onto tufts of feathers in an attempt to stay upright. The Pidgeot looked almost bored and yawned lazily as its trainer got himself comfortable. Nikki then reluctantly climbed up next to her brother. As soon as she got seated, a look of abject fear spread over her face. The Pidgeot just stood there stoically throughout the whole process.

Elliot, shaking his head slightly, released his Tropius and then clambered on top of it. I followed suit, wrapping my arms firmly around Elliot's waist. Jasmine then seated herself gingerly at the end of Tropius, only just managing to fit on the Pokemon. She curled her arms so tight around me I thought she was going to squeeze the life out of me.

"Shall I lead the way?" Elliot shouted across to Scott.

"You probably better had!" Jasmine laughed. "That Pidgeot of his is so fat it might not even be able to fly!"

"You shut your mouth!" Scott bellowed, a fierce, uncharacteristic blush reddening his face.

"Easy, Jasmine…" I said wearily. "Just drop it."

I let out a sigh at this point. Jasmine had always been a little too firmly fixated on looks and appearances for my liking, but hey, that was just part of her so I grew to (kind of) accept it. I viewed it as she loved looking her best and somehow always knew how to help others look their best. I had lost count of how many times she had patiently taught me how to apply makeup or fix hair or choose clothes more suited for my figure. However, every now and again a meaner streak surfaced in her. She wasn't shy when it came to pointing out a wayward spot, or telling me flat out that what I was wearing didn't suit me or if I had seemed to put on a little weight. I guess I had always wondered why she seemed a little judgemental towards people who weren't as skinny or as good-looking as others, but now, learning that she had come from a rich family, I kind of understood. When you were well-off, you could afford the best so you had to look your best. And perhaps her fixation with looks was just one of the little personality flaws we all have… I know for a fact being so obsessed with looking good isn't right, but what could I do? That's the way she is. She's my friend and she's important to me, so I gotta take her for what she is, flaws and all.

I looked across at Scott whose face was now twisting with rage in the face of Jasmine's insults towards his overweight Pidgeot. "I'll show you how good my Pidgeot is!" He cried out, kicking his Pidgeot, quite literally, into action.

The Pidgeot thrust its giant wings into the air, let out an almighty shriek and somehow launched itself straight into the air. I let out a frightened shout as soon as the huge Pidgeot became airborne. Seconds later, it soared past up, kicking up a furious gush of wind that almost knocked me, Elliot and Jasmine straight off of Tropius's back.

I whipped my head upwards and saw Pidgeot rapidly become a disappearing brown and white speck, heading towards the ominous figure of Mt Moon. As the dust settled around us, we were all, to say the least, a little surprised.

"Wow…" I let out a long breath in awe.

"Maybe I won't make fun of his fat Pidgeot anymore…" I heard Jasmine say.

"Stop calling it fat!"

"Well, it is fat!"

"Shush, you two!" Elliot cried. "We better catch up to them! Let's go, Tropius!"

And within a few seconds, we were airborne too.

I loved the feeling of flying now. The first time I had flown on top of Elliot's brother's Dragonite, I had been terrified. It had been amazing, but terrifying. But now… now I wasn't even bothered. In fact, I loved soaring through the air without a care in the world, seeing the landscape spread below me like a tiny children's playset. Houses looked no bigger than a few brown splodges, the colours interlocked in vibrant slabs and splashes, the clouds drifted lazily alongside us, the wind blew in my face, whipping my hair back and surges of excitement coursed through my veins. Keeping myself centred, I threw out my arms to catch the winds, letting out a cry of excitement. I could hear Elliot laughing to himself in front of me, and Jasmine's frenzied cries to be careful behind me.

We soared above Mt Moon, clearing it in one exhilarating swoop. Just in front of us, we could see Nikki and Scott riding on Pidgeot.

"Oh yeah! I forgot!" I suddenly heard Jasmine shout above the noise of the wind.

"What?" I called back.

"Nikki! Is she not scared of heights?"

I swore. "God, so she is! I hope she's all right!"

"Yeah! Me too!"

"Hang on girls; we're going to touch down in a minute." Elliot cried.

We just had time to tighten our grips before Elliot's Tropius dove into a perilous descent. We were going so fast everything was just like a blur! I loved it! We were slowly catching up on Scott's Pidgeot and Jasmine and I whooped and cheered the closer we got to the ground. Cerulean City was getting closer and closer and we aimed to come down around the outskirts, instead of landing smack right in the middle.

We touched down just a few minutes after Scott, Nikki and Pidgeot. Nikki looked white as a sheet and was panting heavily, but she assured us she was okay. I wasn't really convinced. She was trembling and shaking and I felt horribly guilty for subjecting her to her worst fear. Once we managed to get her calm and composed, we all realised we were starving and quite tired. We decided to take a quick rest and grab a bite to eat before heading out to Vermillion.

We stopped at a sandwich bar close to the Pokemon Mart and picked up a selection of sandwiches, juice, pokemon food and various other goodies. We chose to head up to Cerulean Cape, a popular spot for picnicking trainers and eat there, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I personally wanted to go and visit Misty, as I hadn't seen her in a long time, but we found out that she was up to her ears with trainers attempting to win their badges for the upcoming Kanto League in six months.

We found a spot, sneaking in between other trainers and Pokemon so we wouldn't be noticed and challenged. Upon claiming our spot, we all sat down, distributing the sandwiches amongst their rightful owners. While Elliot, Jasmine, Nikki and myself all released our Pokemon to feed them, Scott kept his firmly in their Pokeballs. I was starting to wonder why that boy was so secretive about his Pokemon team…

A thought occurred to me as I considered why I couldn't go and visit Misty. The Kanto League was beginning in six months and she was busy with challengers. But so far as I could remember, opportunities for getting badges for this year's league had already been open for two months. Meaning that the circuit had been open for eight months. That meant that the League wouldn't take place until sometime in October, and not around May or June like it normally did.

"The Kanto League is starting awfully late this year…" I mused, nibbling my way through my sandwich.

"They changed it after the year I competed in it." Elliot told me, sipping juice absentmindedly. "They increased the amount of time trainers have to gather all the badges."

"Why?" I questioned.

Elliot shrugged. "I don't know exactly…. I asked Lance about it; he seems to think the League officials are trying to encourage more trainers to take part…"

"Why?"

"Publicity." Scott said dryly.

"He's right." Elliot said, shaking his head. "The League's become so commercialized lately. I heard they've even started offering huge cash prizes for those who beat even one member of the Elite Four. I think they're trying to compete with all the other Leagues. You know the ones in Hoenn, Johto, Sinnoh and Unova? Apparently a lot of trainers from Kanto are choosing to go overseas to take on Leagues, but there aren't many coming here for League battles."

I frowned. "Why would they go overseas to take on a League? Why bother? Why not just stay here and compete in their home League?"

"Lance seems to think that it's because no-one's won against the champion in years." Elliot explained, taking another bite from his sandwich. "The new trainers end up thinking that the Kanto League here is unbeatable so they stick around long enough to get a starter then go overseas to try and beat other Leagues. Trainers today don't seem to want a challenge anymore. All they want is fame, glory and power."

"Fame, glory and power, huh?" I repeated listlessly, staring down at my sandwich. The words had resonated with me. That's what I had accused my father of being obsessed with last time I had seen him.

I was about to say something else, but a voice cut through my thoughts. "Hey, you over there!"

Every single one of us turned around to come face-to-face with a pair of trainers, both quite young, I would guess around eleven, one boy and one girl. Both were wearing shorts and loose t-shirts and had their exposed legs streaked with mud and riddled with cuts and bruises. The fit the stereotypical look of "rookie trainer" to an absolute T, coupled with the fact they each had determined looks on their faces and were clinging onto Pokeballs like their lives depended on it. We all blankly looked at each other, wondering which of us they were addressing.

"You!" the female trainer was pointing at Scott. "Do you want a battle?"

"What's the matter, the rest of us not good enough for you…?" Jasmine muttered to herself, but thankfully neither of the young trainers heard her.

"Against you?" Scott wrinkled in his nose in disgust as he looked the trainers up and down. "No thank you." He said primly, before turning his back to them.

"Why not?" the male trainer demanded.

"You're rookies." Scott said matter-of-factly, swallowing the last of his sandwich.

"We are not!" the girl squealed.

"You are." Scott said as if it wasn't up for discussion. "Let me guess… you're looking for trainers you think you can win against to train up your Pokemon before you battle Misty, right?"

Angered looks spread across both trainers' faces. Scott was obviously spot on.

"So what if we are? You scared of losing? Huh? You big chicken? Bok bok bok!" the boy cackled, flapping his arms up and down in his best impression of a chicken.

I found myself biting back a laugh. Jasmine looked decidedly bored and was lying on her back, staring up into the sky, as if nothing was happening. Elliot absent-mindedly played with a minimized Pokeball. Even Nikki wasn't giving this matter her full attention; she was tickling her Magby, making it giggle hysterically.

Scott stood up, fixing his eyes firmly on the boy and girl in front of him. "I'm way out of your league. Everyone here," he waved his arms to indicate me, Elliot, Jasmine and Nikki. "… is out of your league, got it?"

The boy didn't answer. Instead he made more chicken noises, this time twice as loud.

Scott let out a long sigh. "If I battle you, will you go away?"

"Yeah! Away with half your money!" the boy taunted.

"We'll see about that…" Scott said darkly, delving to his belt for his Pokeballs.

As he picked a Pokeball from his belt, I stood up. A strange instinct had taken hold of me and mad me shout across to him.

"Wait, Scott!"

Scott turned around and looked at me in shock as I came to join him. I flashed him a grin. "Let me join in."

"What?" Scott said indignantly. "You think I can't handle this?"

"Not at all," I said with a grin. "I just want to join in."

"What?" he sounded shocked.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I wanna join in."

"We didn't ask you!" the boy cut in.

"And I wasn't speaking to you." I said as coldly as I could muster, and then turned back to Scott. "I haven't battled in a while. 'Sides, without me it'd be two against one! They'd be breaking the rules." I added with a jerk of my head in the trainers' direction.

The two trainers let out an angry "hmph!", obviously caught out. Scott looked back from me to the rookie trainers a few times, clearly mulling over his choices. Eventually he let out a quick, intense sigh. "Fine!" he growled.

"Yes!" I cried happily, punching the air.

"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up and pick a Pokemon…"

"Will do!"

I turned back to my six Pokemon, who had all stopped what they were doing immediately after they had heard news of a battle. Meloi walked up to me hopefully, her eyes shining and sparks flying from her body. She was clearly ready for a battle, but I figure relying on Meloi would be too easy. I patted her on the head softly.

"Amph? Amph?"

I smiled down at her. "Sorry girl. Not this time."

She deflated and trudged back to my team dejectedly. I ran my eyes over the remainder of my Spirited Six before finally setting on someone.

"Come on, Cairo!" I cheered.

My Vibrava looked more than a little surprised at the fact he had been picked, but he buzzed up to my side happily enough. I then turned back to Scott. "We're ready when you are."

He still looked less than pleased to have to battle alongside me, but he swiftly nodded his head and pulled out a Pokeball. The rookie trainers in front of us exchanged worried looks, they had suddenly realised that what they were doing was a bad idea. However, they weren't backing down. Their hands touched on Pokeballs too, and they pulled them from their belts, readying themselves.

A surge of excitement coursed through me! This was my first battle in so long! And against rookies or not, I couldn't wait to get started on what was no doubt going to be a big challenge. I was a strange mix of excitement, anticipation and nervousness. I hadn't battled for one and a half years… and that sounded insane when I thought about it. I mean, I had been pretty good at it back in the day, but that felt like such a long time ago. I couldn't help but worry if my Pokemon were still strong enough to battle, if they could remember how to battle properly… Did they even have that killer instinct to battle anymore? I didn't know…

I looked nervously across at Cairo, who was focusing on the two trainers in front of us. I didn't know how things were going to turn out. I didn't know if my Pokemon could still battle well like they used to. Hell, I didn't even know if _I _could deal with it.

There was only one way that I _would _know. I had to throw myself into this battle and regain the strength I had had all those months ago.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Spirited reached 30,000 views. :O**

**Been ill the past couple days, but dealt with it by reading ArchXDeath's "Lost Smiles" and "Lost Names", Padfoot Arcanine's "Spotlight" and RememberYourMortality's "Johto and Kanto Travels" and Aeroga's "Identity Crisis." Read these fics. Seriously. **

**Sniper Mudkip: Sienna will get Walrein and Flygon eventually and I have Nikki and Jasmine scheduled to get line up changes.**

**Imabeemee: Aww thank you for your first review :) No, I know how you feel. I treat Sienna, like you said, like a daughter or a niece so I feel proud watching her grow! Thank you!**

**May and Dawn are the best: Ahhh what girl doesn't love a bit of romance? And thanks for the DeviantART watch!**

**Manser77: Sorry, typo! Vibrava = Cairo. :)**

**Something dictionary related: Christian will have a small part to play... small part. :) I'll give you a hint: he convinces Sienna, Elliot, Scott and the girls to compete in the Pokeathalon. Spoiler for a filler chapter!**

**TwewyReaperGirl: INTERNET COOKIES! *noms***

**Padfoot Arcanine: Aww thank you very much for your lovely review!**

**Splashstorm: Aww, I missed you! :) Thank you for the drawing compliments! I'm working on some more to upload soon once the fic gets going. Yeah, I agree. There is a big difference between Free Spirits and Spirited, huh?**

**Before I sign off, I'd like to address a recent Spirited reviewer. **

**First off, I don't believe the storyline of Spirited is "overused" as such. I attempted to take a cliche plot, that you know is cliche (prophecy, attempting to take over the world, legendaries and saving the world) and attempt to put my own spin on it. It's cliche to a point that even the MAIN CHARACTER knows it's cliche. Plots aren't my strong point anyway, and I know that, so I'm not bothered. I also gave Sienna a Pokemon with issues (another so-called "over-used" cliche) because I didn't want my Pokemon to be one-dimensional as I've seen with many OC fics. I'm also quite insulted at the thought that I put too much time into the plot and not enough into developing the Pokemon. I believe my Pokemon are (mostly) quite well developed, perhaps not in the cases of Indigo and Cairo because they appeared late in the game, but I believe I did at least a semi-decent job on it. I also don't believe Elliot is a Sue either. I'm sorry you took a negative view on the fic, and I also apologise for stating my beliefs in such a manner but I can't ignore what I deem to be a unfair review. I'm going to continue writing Free Spirits, regardless of whether or not you feel it is "unneeded". So, I apologise for my bitchy rant and for ending the chapter in a negative tone. **

**OceanSpiral out! **


	5. Surprises

We stood there for a few moments, waiting for the boy and girl to make their moves. They both looked at each other and then swiftly nodded. I stood my ground, waiting for them to act. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long.

"I choose Bulbasaur!" the girl yelled, throwing a Pokeball.

"Go, Abra!" the boy cried, also releasing a Pokeball.

As the two Pokemon burst from their Pokeballs, Scott and I exchanged looks. The Bulbasaur looked around in disdain, whilst the Abra just looked confused. Both seemed to be less than happy to be out in the open. Even as I thought this, the Bulbasaur let out a bored yawn. I found myself wondering if these rookies were actually being serious or just having a laugh…

"Listen Sienna…" Scott said slowly as we eyed the two Pokemon that were meant to be our "competition". "Even after not training for two years… if you lose to these two blockheads here… I'll _never_ associate with you again."

I laughed nervously in the face of Scott's little threat. The bad thing was I knew he was being serious. "Duly noted." I said, managing to muster up a grin.

"Come on, release a Pokemon!" the boy yelled impatiently.

Scott grunted and then nocked a Pokeball from his waist. He threw it into the air, caught it and spun it deftly on one finger, before catching it again. Pretty cool display, I had to admit. He then tossed the Pokeball almost carelessly to the ground. In a flash of white light, the ball burst open revealing one of Scott's Pokemon.

I admit, I almost fell over laughing when I saw what Pokemon emerged from that ball. It had a gormless looking face that could rival even Nikki's Numel, Etna. It yawned lazily and shifted on its feet, looking blankly at the two Pokemon in front of it.

"Quag! Quagsire…" it said with a gormless grin, its eyes practically glazed over.

The boy in front of us suddenly burst into peals of manic laughter. "A Quagsire? Really? It's a Water and Ground type! It won't stand a chance against Jo's Bulbasaur!"

Scott said nothing in return apart from to aimlessly spin his Quagsire's Pokeball again. I got the sneaking suspicion that Scott had purposely chosen a Pokemon that was traditionally weak to the rookies', as if to teach them a lesson. I motioned for Cairo to join Scott's Quagsire and he did so.

"Rookies move first." Scott offered, waving his hand in the kids' directions.

The boy growled. "I don't need your pity."

Scott, in an almost gentlemanly manner, then offered the first move to the female trainer. She stood in shock for a few seconds, then shook her head vehemently, then began appealing to her friend to take the first move. I stood there in annoyance throughout the whole process as the two kids bickered and argued, firmly debating about taking the first move for myself if there was going to be this much aggravation surrounding it.

Eventually though, the boy was convinced and the battle was back on. He took his stance, readied himself and eventually called out an order. "Abra, use Hidden Power!"

The girl quickly got in on the act too. "And Bulbasaur, use your Razor Leaf!"

I watched in mild amusement as the Abra cast its trainer a confused look and then proceeded to teleport itself halfway across the field. This was much to the boy's extreme annoyance and he started yelling angrily at the little Pokemon. I had to fight not to laugh. At least the girl's Bulbasaur seemed to be better trained. As soon as it received the order, it sent a flurry of razor sharp leaves in our direction. Cairo let out a little squeak at the sight of the oncoming attack, but Scott and Quagsire stayed cool.

Scott glanced down as his idle Quagsire, who didn't even look bothered at the approaching attack. Scott's lips opened and he stated a command, so calmly and quietly I almost didn't hear it.

"Quagsire, shoot them down with Mud Shot."

"Quag!"

The gormless look instantly left the Quagsire's face. It straightened itself up to its full height, drew back slightly and quick as a flash, let out a succession of blasts of thick, gloopy mud. The mud soared towards the incoming leaves, covered them and sent them spiralling to the ground, too heavy to fly. The girl stopped in shock as the leaves hit the ground, completely not expecting that turn of events.

A satisfied smile appeared on Scott's face as both the girl and the Bulbasaur could only look on in stunned silence. The boy was still shouting commands towards his Abra, which needless to say went unheeded. I saw a golden opportunity.

"Right, my turn!" I grinned. "Cairo, use Faint Attack on the Abra!"

To be honest, I hadn't been optimistic that Cairo would listen. He had always been a timid Pokemon totally against battling; only ever choosing to battle if it was absolutely necessary. Add that to the fact he hadn't been on a battlefield in one and a half years, I certainly wasn't holding my breath. But to my astonishment, no sooner had I given the command Cairo pulled away from me and started speeding towards the boy's Abra, ready to attack! I was ecstatic! I knew that Cairo with Faint Attack, a Dark type move, would be super effective against the Psychic type, Abra. But the boy, knowing what I was getting at, quickly shouted out a move. "Abra, Teleport away, quickly!"

I cursed as the Abra suddenly disappeared from where it was standing and reappeared right at the other end of the field. Of course, it had to choose _now _to listen to its trainer. "Don't let it get away, Cairo!" I roared. "Keep on it!"

"Keep teleporting, Abra!"

No matter how close Cairo got to the Abra, it teleported away every time, completely avoiding any attack I sent in its direction. I cursed, almost ready to jump up and down in my frustration, but I was distracted when I felt something wet and cold plop onto the top of my head.

"What the hell?" I wondered, raising my head skyward. It was a bad mistake. I was rewarded with a faceful of water. I realised, as freezing droplets of water started falling all around me that it was raining. "Rain! What the hell? It was sunny two minutes ago!" I cried as it began to pour.

The rain swamped my body; soaking me to the bone and making me shiver with cold within only a few minutes. Behind me, I could hear the sounds of Nikki and Jasmine squealing and the noises of Pokemon being returned into their Pokeballs. I turned around and recalled the remainder of my team, two-at-a-time and then turned back to my battle.

I still wasn't sure where the rain had come from until I noticed the Quagsire happily running around in the pouring rain, and the triumphant look on Scott's face. "_Rain Dance…"_ I realised. "_Scott made Quagsire use Rain Dance…"_

"Vi! Viiii!" Cairo's cries made me turn around and I realised that my poor Vibrava was having trouble staying afloat in the air. The rain was pounding down so hard that it was weighing down his thin, flimsy wings.

"Dammit!" I cursed, turning towards Scott who was now standing there doing his best impression of a passionless statue. "Scott! What are you doing? Cairo can't stay airborne!"

Scott ignored me. The rain was thundering down so hard, so dense and thick that the grassy ground and earth couldn't absorb it fast enough. The ground became waterlogged and muddy and as I took a tentative step forward, I almost slipped. My feet were sinking into the ground, the mud squelching and bubbling ominously every time I dared to move. I found myself in awe, looking across at a stoic Scott and a gormless Quagsire. "_I can't believe it… all this rain from just one Quagsire? That _one _Quagsire has done this? This is like a flood plain! It's really amazing! But what is Scott's plan…?_"

"Now, Quagsire! Mud Shot the ground! Just like we practiced!"

I watched in a strange mixture of amazement and confusion as Quagsire started shooting blasts of mud into the already waterlogged ground. Within a few seconds, the ground was completely churned up, thick mud flying and squelching everywhere.

"_What is he doing_?" I thought, pushing my rain soaked hair from my eyes in an attempt to see better. The misty haze from the rain was rising up everywhere, blurring my vision, making it increasingly difficult to see. I could vaguely hear the worried cries of the Bulbasaur and Abra in the distance. Next to me, Cairo gave up and plopped down onto the ground, lifting the pressure from his soaking wet wings. I squinted through the haze, waiting for Scott to make his next move.

"Now, Quagsire! Use Water Gun on the ground! Then use Muddy Water!"

I could only watch as Quagsire shot a Water Gun into the giant pool of mud, sloshing it around and thinning it down. Then the mud began to churn and move as if manipulated by an unseen menace. All of a sudden, a huge wave was moulded out of the mud that lay in front of us. The wave rose high above the Quagsire's head and then was released suddenly, and it powered forward straight into the Bulbasaur and Abra. There was no escape from that wave, even from Abra's teleport. It was simply too high and too wide for _anyone _to escape from. The wave hit straight into the Pokemon, engulfing them in mud and sweeping them right across the field. Even the two trainers were splashed with mud when the wave roared past them. Eventually it slowed to a stop, leaving the Bulbasaur and Abra completely dazed.

Then the rain stopped.

Blinking in surprise as the sunlight streamed down again, I watched as the two young trainers ran up to their Pokemon and tried to haul them out of the mud. However, the heat from the sun was already making the squelchy mud harden, and it was useless. No matter how hard they chipped away at the hardening mud, they couldn't free their Pokemon. So, they had no choice but to recall the unconscious Abra and Bulbasaur to their Pokeballs.

"Wow…" I found myself saying as I looked across at Scott. He was standing there with his arms tightly folded and no expression upon his face. His Quagsire looked up at him with a gormless smile, and he patted it absent-mindedly on its head.

"You… you big meanie!" The little girl suddenly shouted, her voice cutting through my thoughts. She was clutching her Bulbasaur's Pokeball tight to her chest and looked like she was trying to hold back tears. Her voice was choked. "Why'd you have to do that?" she cried.

"I gave you every opportunity to walk away." Scott said passionlessly.

"You…didn't have to be so cruel!" tears were now spilling from the girl's eyes.

The boy suddenly reappeared, and starting shouting at Scott, using curses I had only ever heard used by rough, loutish, drunk men. Scott raised his eyebrows at the boy as he raged on, before swiftly turning on his heel. "Get your Pokemon to the centre and heal them up. Next time, pick on someone your own size." He said emotionlessly, and then proceeded to walk away, heading back towards the bridge into the main body of Cerulean City.

"Wow…" I said again, looking at Cairo. Upon seeing me looking at him, he started buzzing weakly. He pushed himself back into the air, but he was noticeably struggling to keep himself afloat. His waterlogged wings were still obviously causing him problems. "You and I didn't do much at all, did we Cairo?"

He shook his head, looking sad.

I held out his Pokeball, maximizing it my hand. "Go back inside for a rest and dry off. You did well."

"Viii! Vii!" he said with relief as he disappeared into the Pokeball.

I stood there for a few seconds before cautiously picking my way across the hardening mud to join up with Jasmine, Nikki and Elliot who were standing out of the way, near to the bridge. The three of them were muddy and soaked through just like me, and looking less than happy about it.

"Come on," Jasmine said, wringing out her blonde hair. "We should all probably get dried off and head to Vermillion as soon as possible,"

"Yeah, you're right." Nikki said with a sigh. "I should probably speak to Scott too."

We continued on to the main body of Cerulean City. We eventually caught up to Scott. His face looked as blank as ever, but he walked with a noticeably confident air. I found myself a little bemused in the aftermath of the battle against the two rookie trainers. Scott's tactics were definitely different from anything I had ever seen before. Unusual, but effective, I had to admit. I had never seen a trainer use the terrain and natural surroundings to launch their offensive attacks. It was effective… really effective.

Nikki was trying desperately to talk to Scott, but he ignored his big sister and instead led the way towards Vermillion in stony silence. For a long time, we walked, no-one speaking. With half an hour, we left the blue city of Cerulean behind. My mind, no matter what I did, kept returning to the battle Scott and I had participated in. Well… more like I had watched from the sidelines. Scott had handled the battle with only a few moves, making quick and easy work of the rookies while I had stood there, not even needed. While one little part of me whole-heartedly wished I had had a chance to battle again in so long, the rest of me still couldn't believe what a good trainer Scott was. He had just been an annoying little kid when I met him two years ago, and up until now, I thought he still was. He had been loud, arrogant, childish… now he was calm, cool and composed, executing attacks almost coldly and distantly. I hadn't realised he was such a good trainer. I mean, even I thought he was crazy sending out a dopey looking Quagsire to deal with the rookie trainers, but he had proved me, and probably everyone else standing there, completely wrong. If the Pidgeot and Quagsire he had showed off were any indication to the rest of the team he owned, I was beginning to hope more and more I would never find myself on the opposite side of a battlefield with him.

The rest of the day passed with little incident. We managed to cover just over half of the distance to Vermillion. We would have managed more distance, had it not been for me. Shameful, I know… My stamina had dramatically decreased since the last time I had been out on the road, and walking for so long over such a long distance almost killed me. I had to stop frequently for rests and breaks, to my utmost embarrassment. Both Elliot and Scott teased me about it, whilst Jasmine sighed with frustration every time I had to stop. Only Nikki actually seemed to care enough to stop and see if I was doing okay.

Night took too long to fall, I thought, exhausted. When it eventually did roll around, we pitched camp and ate our rations for a light dinner. After putting out the fire that Nikki's Blaze conjured up, we all crawled into our various tents to bunk down for the night. As soon as I wriggled into my sleeping bag, exhaustion overcame me and I fell asleep as soon as my heavy and weak body hit the ground.

It took us only a few hours the next day to reach Vermillion. As the familiar waft of salty sea air coated my nose and tongue, I felt another deep-rooted sense of nostalgia come over me. I had felt it too as soon as I had entered Cerulean. The fresh, clean smell of pure water and nature had been so different from the harsh fumes of Viridian and Pewter. I breathed in the sea air smell deeply, finding I quite liked it. It was strange… my fear of water was as present and controlling as it ever had been. But I almost liked some of the memories I had associated with it. I felt at home being in Cerulean and Vermillion, even though they were so close to sea and water.

"Pokemon Centre, then?" Elliot asked our group wearily as the landscape of Vermillion came into our view.

"Definitely."

* * *

><p>I let out a satisfied yawn, stretching my body as I padded around the Pokemon Centre room. Nikki sat at the desk, tapping out a text message to Christian. Her Magby toddled around the room, climbing on top of anything and everything and getting into general mischief. Jasmine was no-where to be found. I assumed she was downstairs retrieving the SS Anne tickets that were supposed to be arriving at the Vermillion Pokemon Centre. Elliot and Scott, so far I as knew, were in the room next to us, relaxing.<p>

Just as I sat down to rest my aching, weary body, Jasmine burst in the room again clutching a brown padded envelope. She was beaming from ear to ear as she ripped apart the envelope, delving inside and eventually producing five identical tickets. She spread them into a fan before happily skipping up to me and Nikki. I found myself amused at this uncharacteristic behaviour. Jasmine _never_ skipped… It was quite worrying actually…

"Here you go!" she grinned, bestowing a ticket on both me and Nikki in turn. I took it and began to study it intently.

"Wow…" I had to admit I was impressed with the design of the ticket. It was mostly white, with a cool blue stripe crossing it. The words SS Anne were imprinted at the top of the ticket, alongside an image of the SS Anne itself. I felt more than a little nervous when I saw the image. It looked so huge!

"So, what? We just had this over to the SS Anne people?" I asked, turning the ticket over so I could investigate it. There wasn't any place for us to put our names on them; there wasn't even a booking number. However, there was a date for the sailing. The date 19/04/2011 had been stamped on it at the back of the ticket.

"Looks like it," Nikki said, carefully placing the ticket out of reach of her hyper Magby. We had been left alone again, as Jasmine had already steamrollered out the door to pass Elliot and Scott their tickets.

"So the crossing's at what… eleven?" I double-checked.

"Yeah… she doesn't get in till four though."

"Brilliant." I sighed. "Five hour crossing. Only marginally better than the six hours it takes to get to Hoenn."

Nikki shrugged.

"I don't get it." I said, folding out my map of the Kanto and Johto regions. "How come it takes so long to get to Johto when the regions are so close to each other? I mean, they're practically linked up! Go south from Victory Road and pass all those waterfalls in the west and you're in Johto! Why are we even taking the SS Anne when we could technically walk there?"

"The ocean currents are strong around Johto, that's why it takes so long." Nikki explained. "And we have to loop right around the whole region to get into port."

I sighed. "And we can't walk there why?"

It's too difficult to walk there." Nikki said crossing over to point out a few places on the map. "All the trainers that hang around Victory road and south of it are really strong. Too strong for us. Maybe not for Scott and _certainly _not for Elliot, but they would make quick work of me, you and Jasmine. And there's no way we could cross that waterfall either. None of us have Water Pokemon big enough and strong enough to fight the currents. And even if we could, there's at least a week, maybe even two week's walk from New Bark Town to Goldenrod."

"Okay, okay, fair enough." I said with a sigh. I didn't like the sound of all the strong trainers hanging around Victory Road. As much as I didn't like to admit it, Nikki was right. It was either ferry, or nothing. "So, ferry to Olivine, then cross from Olivine to Goldenrod…" I murmured, collapsing onto my bed. "And then find Dad…"

"Not as simple as that," Nikki pointed out, tracing a path from her finger. "What we really have to do is head north up route 39, east across route 38, stop off in Ercuteak, then go south down route 37, go through National Park, south down route 35 and then we hit Goldenrod."

"Sounds long." I said dryly.

"It's the only way." Nikki said with another careless shrug.

I moaned and turned over. Just as I did so, Nikki's phone rang and she rushed outside to answer it so she could speak privately. Christian probably, I reasoned. I was quite glad she did run outside; it gave me some time to think. I was dreading the journey on the ferry tomorrow. I was also starting to get seriously worried about what was waiting for me in Goldenrod city. I didn't know what to expect, and that scared me. Was dad really some kind of reformed character, like the Officer Jenny had said? I didn't believe it. I can't lie and say he didn't change after the events of one and a half years ago, because he did. He came to his senses, realised what he was doing was wrong and had even protected me against Arceus. But that still didn't excuse the way he treated me as a child, the way he had gone mad with power, the way he had tried so hard to stop me from succeeding against him. He was a dangerous man… I was still a little scared of him, even to this day. I knew if his motives for bringing me to Goldenrod were of malicious intent, he'd have next to no trouble beating me in a battle if he needed to. At this moment, I couldn't believe he wanted me for anything but a weird, twisted sense of revenge. That was why I was glad I had brought friends along. If he turned on me I would have some backup.

The rest of the day passed too quickly for my liking. Before I knew it was time to eat dinner, and it seemed like I only blinked and then it was time to go to bed. I bid goodnight to Elliot and Scott, but it was like I was doing it automatically. I felt like a robot, going through the motions, but not connecting emotionally with anything I was doing. I slept erratically that night, falling asleep for short periods of time, waking up again and then falling asleep again. By the time morning came around, I felt like I had seen every hour of the clock.

I ate breakfast in silence, and then we moved down to the port. I could see the giant ship come in to the harbour even as we walked down. It effortlessly glided through the water, kicking up only the smallest of swells as it moved. It was a bigger ship than I had ever expected it to be. It was probably twice or even three times bigger than the ship I had sailed on from Kanto to Hoenn. Everything about it just screamed good taste and luxury.

We handed over our tickets to the man at the terminal. He looked at the tickets oddly and then did a double take as he looked at our party. He then thoroughly began investigating the tickets, turning them upside down and side-to-side under a bright desk light. Jasmine crossed her arms haughtily and made a big deal of sighing and tapping her foot in impatience. Eventually the man seemed satisfied with whatever it was he was doing, turned the tickets back to us and pointed in the direction of the walkway down to the ferry.

"Can you believe it? Can you believe that man?" Jasmine raged as soon as we were out of earshot. "He thought our tickets were fake! Can you believe it?"

"Umm… actually, I can, yeah." I said. "We're not exactly conventional passengers on a luxury liner, Jazz."

"Well maybe you're not…" she muttered when she thought I couldn't hear.

As we walked towards the ship, I took the opportunity to size up my fellow passengers. Most of them were middle-aged men and women dressed in suits or exquisite, expensive clothes. The very few people who were our age or younger travelled with an entourage of older people. Even the younger ones walked with a sophisticated, almost regal air. Many of the older ones had a strange look on their faces as they walked with their shoulders back and noses high in the air. It was like they had a permanent bad smell under their noses. I caught several of them glancing at us, scoffing and tutting at the presence of such scruffy, lower class Pokemon trainers.

We reached the gangplank of the ship and I swallowed nervously. It was so high! The waters were lapping relentlessly at the hull of the ship. Even the sound of it made me feel ill. Elliot appeared next to me, taking my hand and gently leading me up the gangplank.

As soon as I stepped in to the interior of the ship, I almost forgot we were standing in a ship. What lay before me was nothing like the interior of the ship that had taken me to Hoenn. The only word to describe what I was seeing now was "luxury". The ceiling seemed to go on forever, giant windows encircled the interior, chandeliers cast brilliant light everywhere, expensive looking cream and red sofas and armchairs were arranged perfectly, and handsome men attended a nearby bar, dressed in suits and bow ties. Even more amazing was that that was only the half of it. The sounds of classical music filled my ears, and several doors led away to many more rooms, probably just as grand and amazing as the one we were in.

We must have stood there for a full five minutes, just taking in the sheer decadence and elegance of the ship. Many others pushed past us, heading straight for either the luxurious lounge or the bar.

"Looks like they've got their priorities straight." I said darkly, watching women sip up their rich red wine with careless abandon, and men swallow down various other liquors like they were drinking water.

"Eh. Red wine's not all that nice." Elliot replied with a grin. "Me, I prefer something a bit stronger!"

"Okay, Mister I-Can-Drink-Legally-Now…" I said darkly. Sometimes I forgot Elliot was eighteen now and classified as a legal adult. It felt strange sometimes to remember that, especially since I had only just turned seventeen.

He chuckled good-naturedly at me. As we stood there, a horn sounded and the captain began to announce his "welcome to the SS Anne" spiel. Shuddering at the knowledge the ship would be leaving soon, I turned to my friends. "Come on; let's go sit down… the sooner we get off this floating hell-hole the better…"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hey guys :)**

**Few things to say. **

**Anyone who hasn't already checked out the Spirited stuff on my DeviantART, please do! I'm soon to upload an updated Free Spirits concept drawing with all the characters as they are now, i.e. older :)**

**Another thing to look at it is my fictionpress account. I have a chapter of an original fiction I'd love some people to take a look at and let me know if it's any good or whatever. Find my fictionpress on my profile, or you can also check it out on my deviantART. Thank you. **

**Finally, I'm going on a small hiatus for a week or so. I'm feeling just a little bit weary of Spirited and Free Spirits of late, so gonna take a break. **

**Thanks to my reviewers, Hikaru-pichu, Sniper Mudkip, eeveelutionluvr, Padfoot Arcanine, Manser77, May and Dawn are the best, beatlesfan53 and zoeten (apology accepted Zoeten and thank you for clarifying yourself from your last review). **

**OceanSpiral out. **

**See you soon. **

**x**


	6. The SS Anne

I felt like I was going to _die._

"Feeling all right?" Elliot asked me softly.

I responded with a low, agonised groan.

"Sea sick?" I heard Nikki ask from somewhere nearby.

"Almost. Not quite." I groaned, miraculously able to keep what little breakfast I had eaten down. But perhaps I had spoken too soon… All of a sudden, my stomach churned unbearably and I felt bile rising in my throat. "Oh, God! Maybe!"

However, much to my relief, and probably to the relief of all the passengers around me, I swallowed it back, regaining my control. I wanted to roll over and die, I felt that terrible. I had hoped that all the to-ing and fro-ing I had done on boats to Lilycove and Sootopolis would have prepared me for this, but to my intense disappointment it hadn't. No sooner had the boat pushed off into the ocean; I had to run to the bathrooms in fear of throwing up.

Now even as I lay down in a comfy sofa, I still felt ill. The nausea was coming in strong, unrelenting waves, springing up on me without a warning. I'd feel okay for five or ten minutes, but then it would suddenly creep back up on me. My stomach was clenching and churning unpleasantly, protesting with every slight movement I made. I had to do everything I could to stop myself throwing up on a few occasions.

I wasn't aware I was making pained noises until I caught sight of an upper class woman staring down her long pointed nose at me and commenting rudely on my "lack of respect for other passengers". Elliot was pointedly shooting daggers at the offending woman, but she was ignoring him.

Before I knew what was happening, Elliot had haughtily stood up, letting out an exasperated sigh, muttering something furiously under his breath. Next thing I was aware of was Elliot extending his hand towards me. "Come on, maybe we should go outside."

"No, no, I'll be sick!" I protested weakly as I felt hands around me, pulling me to feet. My stomach twisted and groaned ominously and I felt twinges of pain shoot through me.

"Good," Elliot said, getting me settled on my wobbly legs. "Throw up over all these stuffy upper-class people…"

"Oh God, Elliot, no…" I had to laugh at this, despite the fact I felt I was only seconds away from losing my breakfast…

"Easy does it." Elliot told me as he gently helped me up the steps to the outside deck. A few seconds later I felt the rush of cold air hit my face and before I knew it, I was being pushed into a sitting position. "Take some deep breaths."

"Elliot…" Nikki ventured. "Sienna's scared of water, right? I don't think taking her out here where she can see the water is a good thing."

"She'll be fine. The fresh air will do her good. We'll take her back in once the sickness passes. She'll be just fine."

"Who's "she", the cat's mother?" I asked wearily, my head between my legs. The cool air rushing through my lungs seemed to be working. The pain in my head was subsiding, the twisting, gurgling feeling in my stomach was slowly going away and it was starting to feel less and less likely I was going to be sick everywhere.

"Feeling better?" Nikki asked comfortingly, sitting next to me. She handed me a chilled bottle of water which I sipped at slowly.

"Yeah, a little." I said truthfully. I sat back in my seat, focusing my eyes on the clouds in the distance. I had learned a long time ago to focus my attention on one thing, and one thing only, to stop myself from noticing the swell of the waters or the movement of the ship. Thankfully today, the crossing was smooth, but it was still enough to make me feel horribly ill. Even the slightest rocking and jilting of the boat made me want to throw up.

I managed to position myself in such a way that I wasn't paying much attention to the water. "Wh… where's Scott and Jasmine?" I asked, managing to at least sound like I was in control, even if the boat was slowly starting to get the better of me again.

"They went off to explore while you were asleep." Nikki explained.

"Ohh…" I said, nodding. "How long was I asleep for?"

"About an hour," Elliot said airily. "We've not long passed Cinnabar Island. So that means we've still got a long way to go."

I let out a groan. "Really?"

"Unfortunately." Elliot shrugged.

I groaned again. As I looked out towards the cloudy sky in the distance, my stomach was starting to settle. The clean air was refreshing and made me feel alert and awake, unlike that horrible, groggy feeling you get when you feel sick. I took another long sip from the bottle, feeling the clear, clean coldness trickle down my throat. I let out a sigh, knowing full well that sitting out here wasn't achieving anything. I was already starting to feel bored. We had a whole ship's worth to explore. Besides, the SS Anne was luxury epitomised. Only a privileged few were able to see inside its walls. It would be such a waste to just stand around and not take advantage of this rare opportunity.

I think I surprised Elliot and Nikki when I got to my feet and stretched my body again, the calming ocean air washing over me. "I don't think there's much point sitting around here feeling sorry for myself. Do you guys want to go for a walk?"

Nikki and Elliot looked at each other in mild surprise. Elliot then shrugged and stood up, smiling. His hand found its way into mine, our fingers interlocking in a familiar, comforting embrace. "Sure. A walk sounds nice."

"Nikki?" I called over my shoulder.

She returned my question with a light smile and got to her feet too. "Yeah. Sounds good," she said, crossing over to my side.

The three of us then swiftly hurried inside, under the disapproving eyes of the upper classes adorning the deck.

* * *

><p>As we looked around the posh dining room on the lookout for Scott and Jasmine, only one thing could come to my mind.<p>

"Jeez. This place looks expensive."

It really, really did. All around me, men and women with classy, sophisticated and well tailored clothes were tucking into exquisite lunches. Forget normal lunches, good hearty grub like macaroni cheese, burgers, lasagne, steak pie and veg and fish and chips. These guys were tucking into pieces of meat framed by all manners of purees and sauces and covered with various other unidentifiable… things. What was it my tutor at pastry school called it? Nouvelle cuisine? That kind of fancy, minimalist approach to food. I knew that one day I'd have to do that myself… I still hadn't started learning the more tricky stuff. I still had another seven months before I graduated from pastry school anyway.

Elliot's voice cut me off from my bizarre thoughts about pastry school and nouvelle cuisine. He sounded worried as he commented on the grandeur and doubtless expense of such a luxury liner. I replied in the affirmative, still trying to get myself together again.

"I'd hate to think how much a ticket for this thing would _really_ cost." Nikki chipped in nervously.

"Probably a pretty penny judging from the look of these people here." I said darkly. "They're all fairly rich…"

"I hope I don't break anything…" Nikki said worriedly.

"Yeah. You and me both." I added. "Come on, we really should go and find Jasmine and Scott."

"Probably a good idea." Elliot said. "God knows what mischief _those _two are causing… being let loose on their own like this."

"Just follow the trail of devastation," I laughed nervously at the thought of what trouble our two most loud and arrogant team members could cause from being left alone.

"Don't say that," Nikki groaned in earnest.

I flashed her a grin, before looping my arm in Elliot's. Catching on to what I was planning, he quickly straightened up, put his shoulders back and stuck his nose into the air. He then proceeded to speak in a very high pitched posh accent, whilst I called everyone "daaahling!" and mimed giving air kisses as we sashayed across the dining room.

Nikki followed us in sheer embarrassment as the dining room exploded in fierce angry mutterings at our display.

We crossed across the hallways, still giggling and weakly keeping up our posh charade, until a commotion coming from behind a thick wooden door startled us. The three of us all exchanged worried looks before simultaneously dashing into the room.

The room was mostly empty, with about twenty or thirty people milling around. There were crudely drawn lines drawn on the floor. As we walked in, I realised everyone was standing in a rough circle, surrounding two others, who were holding Pokeballs. Squinting I could make out Jasmine's figure standing at one end of the room, facing another person. I saw Scott standing at the cusp of the group, watching the proceedings. I quickly left Elliot and Nikki and darted up to Scott.

"What's going on?" I asked him softly.

"Jasmine got on the bad side on some rich kid." Scott explained in a thoroughly bored fashion. "So, he challenged her to a Pokemon battle."

"Oh dear…" I let out a sigh. "Typical Jasmine."

"She's a rich kid herself though, let's be honest." Scott added snidely, crossing his arms.

"She doesn't really act like it though." I pointed out.

Scott said nothing as Elliot and Nikki caught up to us. As I relayed the story, they both let out identical groans.

While Scott had been right about Jasmine being a spoiled rich kid, she definitely didn't _act _like one as she easily wiped the floor with the rich kid's Vileplume with her Delcatty. While a spoiled rich kid would have rubbed it in the face of her opponent, Jasmine took her win with a silent dignity, patting Skittle on the head and murmuring words of praise. The other kid acted like the complete stereotype of a rich kid, taking an absolute hissy fit in the face of his defeat. He recalled his unconscious Vileplume and stormed out.

Jasmine laughed nervously as I caught up to her, congratulating her on her victory. "Was that a little much?" she asked, scratching the back of her head.

"Nah," I grinned. "Good job on that."

Jasmine flashed me a grin. "Cheers!"

While we celebrated, Elliot seemed a little uncertain as he slipped towards me. "So…" he cut in nervously as there was a break in conversation. "What are we gonna do now? We still have something like four hours to kill. We gotta find something to do…"

"Emm…" I murmured as a group of rich kids started approaching us, all looking self-important and all clutching brightly patterned Pokeballs that I recognised as Premier Balls and Luxury Balls. "Elliot? Somehow… I really don't think that's gonna be a problem…"

* * *

><p>"I'm so tired!" I whined, stretching out the syllables as long as I possibly could, before collapsing on the squashy sofas.<p>

"If you're tired, I shudder to think how your Pokemon are feeling…" Jasmine said, settling herself down as well. She seemed cool and at ease, despite all the high-speed and tough battling we had all just partaken in. Surprisingly enough, so too did Nikki and Scott as they also took seats. It seemed to be just me who was completely exhausted.

"At least it ate up some time…" Elliot said with a sigh, leaning down into the space next to me. "That's nothing to sneeze at." He too seemed unbothered by the battling.

Nikki consulted the time on her watch, while I leant back in my seat and rested my tired, weary limbs. The time now stood at a little after two, she informed us. I let out a long breath. We still had just under two hours to go.

The Pokemon battling had passed some time though, I had to admit. I had learned three very important things as I had battled. One, I discovered to my extreme delight, I was still a good battler! Even better, my Pokemon seemed to still be as strong as ever! The next thing I realised was that rich kids weren't all that good at battling. And the third thing? They paid _very _handsomely when they lost.

"Okay, okay, I'm gonna go buy us some drinks." Elliot said, heaving himself off the sofa. "What do you girls want?"

"Oh, I'll give you money…" Jasmine said without skipping a beat, delving into her purse.

"Forget it." Elliot grinned. "I made a bundle off all those old guys that thought they were all that." He smirked at the memory, before concluding. "Drinks are on me."

Jasmine returned his smile gratefully. "Well thanks. I'll have a Cola."

"Lemonade, please…" Nikki said with a blush.

"Cola." Scott stated blankly when Elliot turned to him.

"I'll have some fresh orange juice if they've got any?" I requested. I was a bit iffy about drinking anything fizzy in case it unsettled my stomach again.

"So two Colas, one lemonade and one fresh orange." Elliot counted them all off. "Right, I'll be back in a minute."

As Elliot disappeared up to the bar, I stretched my body, cracking my stiff joints satisfyingly. I closed my eyes for a while, but once I opened them again I found myself looking across at Jasmine and Nikki. And they were staring straight back at me. I foolishly looked around, wondering if they were seeing something I wasn't.

"What is it?" I quizzed them.

What Jasmine said next genuinely surprised me. "I gotta admit Sienna, you were pretty good out there." She said with a grin. "Your battling was spot on. I was surprised."

I blinked. "Well… thanks. I think?"

"I mean, no offence, but after not battling for a year and a half, I thought you'd be well… to put it bluntly… terrible."

"Oh thanks!" I huffed.

"It's a compliment!" Jasmine insisted.

I smiled wryly, but then laughed. "Just goes to show I'm not that bad of a trainer if my Pokemon are still as strong as ever!"

"Oh please," Scott murmured to himself, but I ignored him.

"I'm proud of them." I grinned. "They did so well for their first battles in… ages, really."

There was a long silence immediately following that. Still waiting for Elliot to return with the drinks, I looked around the ship's interior, trying to pass the time. As my mind wandered, Jasmine suddenly leaned forward, her words snapping through my thoughts.

"Sienna…" Jasmine ventured slowly, bringing me back to attention. "Have you thought about… you know…" she swallowed, breaking off for a few moments before continuing. "About what your dad wants you for?"

That stopped me. I had to think for a long time before I dared to say anything. I had my suspicions about what Dad wanted me for… revenge was at the top of that list. But for some reason, I didn't feel at all comfortable telling that to Nikki, Jasmine or Scott. "No. No, I don't." I lied, hoping I wouldn't be caught out.

"You really think he's a good guy now?"

This time I didn't have to lie. "No." I said at once. "I don't think that at all."

Nikki and Jasmine looked at me, confused. "Then why did you come?" Nikki asked softly.

"I want answers." I said, this time entirely truthfully, with a long sigh. "I want to know why he did what he did. I want to know, if he only signed up to that organization to protect me, why did he act the way he did? Why did he act like a monster? Why did he still capture legendary Pokemon and still look so happy about it? And then… after all that… why did he protect me from them? I just… I just don't get it."

"I don't get it either…" Jasmine said with a slow sigh. Nikki too shook her head sadly. Scott said nothing, but I didn't expect him to say anything.

I found myself casting a lingering glance out the window. A strange feeling encompassed me as I looked out at the swelling waters. "I guess… I guess I'll know soon enough, huh?"

"Guess so," Jasmine replied solemnly.

A cheery voice interrupted the sombre atmosphere as Elliot appeared from nowhere, balancing a tray of clinking glasses.

"Here's the drinks!" he announced happily, plopping the tray down on the table. With that one movement, he thankfully shattered the tense atmosphere. The mood noticeably lifted and I let out a long, relieved sigh as everyone cheered up. We all thanked Elliot and he grinned, collapsing into the seat next to me. He passed me my drink and then took his own, taking a long draught from something that looked suspiciously alcoholic. He swallowed it down before I could inquire, and then grinned at me. "Dutch courage," he said, putting the glass down on the table again.

"Elliot…" I sighed.

His cheeky grin was so cute that it flummoxed me and stopped me from protesting any further. Seeing my face drop, he quickly interjected. "You okay?" he asked me kindly, his hand intertwining with mine.

I found I couldn't say anything apart from to nod.

We didn't do much else for the remainder of the journey. None of us were keen on battling any more. We were all tired, so we decided to simply nap for a while until the boat eventually chugged into Olivine Harbour. As we neared the pier, I was almost ready to throw myself off the boat to the awaiting pier. Land! The idea of glorious land was so tempting! I couldn't wait to get off this floating hell-hole!

Eventually, the boat docked and we were let off. I rampaged towards the exit, almost forgetting what little luggage I had and almost bowling over some stuck-up, simpering woman in the process. We teetered down the gangplank, allowing the fresh afternoon air to swamp our bodies. I seriously fought the urge to fall to the ground and bask in the glory of dry, safe land. But of course, I didn't. That would have been embarrassing on too many levels. As all the rich people passed commenting airily on the luxury and fineness of it all, the five of us got ready to plan a strategy.

"Okay…" Elliot said, consulting the map and doing his best impersonation of a self important tour guide. "If we leave now, I reckon we could reach route 39 before nightfall. That means we could—"

He was suddenly cut off by a shriek. We all whipped around just in time to see Nikki being scooped up in the arms of a young man with long black hair, tied back in a rough ponytail. She was screaming in happiness as the boy hugged her. We watched on fondly as the boy started to kiss her, like they were love's young dream. Well, apart from Scott. His face was painted with a look of pure disgust as he watched his sister passionately embracing her boyfriend. It was clear Scott did not approve. I personally thought it was quite adorable.

When they eventually broke apart, gasping for breath and eyes shining with happiness, I stepped forward towards the nineteen year old contest master _and _minor celebrity, need I add, and offered him a grin. "Hello Christian."

He turned around to look at us and he beamed happily. It was like he really was genuinely pleased to see us. "Sienna! How nice to see you again!"

He came across and delivered a swift kiss to my cheek. I found myself biting back giggles, suddenly reminded of my impersonation of posh people and their infamous "air kisses" earlier in the day. Sweeping away from me, Christian then gave Jasmine the same treatment. I saw her blush uncharacteristically at this display. He shook Elliot's hand vigorously and then Scott's, before going back to stand with Nikki, slipping his hand into hers.

"It's good to have you with us," I smiled across at Nikki and Christian.

"It's good to be back." He said happily, casting a devoted look in Nikki's direction.

I still had a burning question I wanted to ask Christian. "So, what made you decide to come along with us?"

He shrugged. "Eh, I had some time off from contests, so I decided to come visit Nikki. I can only spare a few days though… I'm competing in the Pokeathlon near to Goldenrod, and then I'm flying back out to Sinnoh."

"Oh." Nikki said sadly. She looked crushed, and I saw her hand tighten around Christian's.

Christian cast his girlfriend a sympathetic look and kissed her slowly. "I'm really sorry, Nik. But I'll spend as much time with you as I can while I _am _here, okay? I promise."

Nikki smiled up to him through watery eyes. Although finding this sweet, I also felt a little uncomfortable. I was starting to hope that Elliot and I didn't do these public displays of affection all that often… I had quickly realised they weren't all that fun for others to watch, and I made a mental note to keep them to a minimum from now on.

As I got over my embarrassment, Christian had turned to me again, his face marred by sadness. "Sienna, I wish you all the best with your dealings with your father. I sincerely hope things turn out the way you want them to."

"Me too." I said dryly.

For a moment, our strange party of six looked around in silence, almost as if we were sizing each other up. Eventually, Elliot broke the uneasy quiet by clearing his throat loudly. "So… shall we go? We've got a lot of ground to cover after all…"

"Good idea," I said, looking towards the unfamiliar land in the distance. A bubble of anticipation rippled through me as I thought was what waiting for me in this new land.

And _who _was waiting for me.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hey guys! I'm really sorry I went on more like a two week hiatus as opposed to just one. Had a bit of a blip when I saw FOUR of my friends completely out of the blue get boyfriends and stuff, and kinda went into a minor depressive state for a few days. Haha! Sad, I know. But I'm here now! The break did me good. I've started work on three new short stories for A Spirited Extension :)**

**Ohh, there's an updated Free Spirits character sheet posted on my DeviantART (sadly minus Christian but with the addition of a new, soon-to-be-revealed new character)**

**Thanks to all my reviewers as per normal. **

**Manser77: Heh heh. Scott really is a total change of character from Spirited, huh? So many Jekyll and Hydes in this series! :)**

**May and Dawn are the best: I had a lot of fun writing the double battle with Sienna and Scott. Especially since I get hardly any opportunity to work with Scott and develop his character. **

**Something dictionary related: Not too much adventure on the boat. Just making fun of rich people and discovering Elliot's love of alcoholic beverages! Haha! :) And as for Scott... well, his ultimate destiny has been decided. But there may be some bumps along the road. **

**WildCroconaw: Scott uses a lot of the terrain and the power of his opponents to use to his advantage, so he's a strategist through and through. **

**ArchXDeath: Haha! Yeah, Scott is a little cold. At least Derek has Damion, Yuki, Marina and everyone else to kind of soften him a little bit. Thank you so much for your help and support kohai, it means a lot to me!**

**Beatlesfan53: Haha! Thank you! Like I said, I had loads of fun with that double battle. **

**Sniper Mudkip: Yeah, Ground types are Scott's favourite and he has a couple more than just Cubone, Rhyhorn and Quagsire, but he has a wealth of other Pokemon too :) **

**WarriorSwift: Well thank you so much for reading the whole story even once it was completed! :) Scott is probably one of my personal favourites, even though he gets so little screen time. Yeah, Cairo is definitely scheduled to evolve somewhere along the line, but as for Kiba... I'm not so sure. **

**Padfoot Arcanine: Thank you for your lovely review!**

**TwewyReaperGirl: Thank you very much! I hope these updates don't disappoint! **

**Thanks all for reading/reviewing and I'll try to update a bit better from now on..**


	7. Pokeathlon Go! Part I

I couldn't sleep.

I was horribly aware of this fact as I lay inside the tent that night at the end of Route 39. We had pitched camp near a local Milktank farm. The people there had been so hospitable to us, bringing us out fresh MooMoo milk for no charge at all, and giving us a space on their land to camp. They said they didn't get visitors all too often anymore, so they were more than happy to help us out.

However, as much as we loved the farmers' hospitality, we weren't overly fond of their herd of Milktank. We had had one scare with a particularly rowdy Milktank as it took a shine to the tent and almost collapsed it in its attempts to scurry inside it. Thankfully, we had eventually managed to shoo away the giant heifer by throwing a pile of Oran berries at it, as far away into the field as we could. We then watched as every single Milktank in the herd tore apart the field looking for the berries. We decided not to say anything to the people owning the farm if they asked us why their farm was in such a terrible state.

I could hear people murmuring in their sleep, tossing and turning as time ticked slowly on. Time had a horrible habit of doing that. Racing forward like a Rapidash when you wanted nothing more for it to slow down, or crawling along at a snail's pace when you wanted it to speed up. It was slowly driving me insane.

As well as the intolerably slow passing of time, there were several other things all threatening my sanity that night. It was uncomfortably hot and cramped in that tent with six people squashed into what was probably only a four man tent. I could barely breathe, and I could feel hot beads of sweat form and drip down my back. I couldn't even move around, let alone have a hope of slipping out carefully to get some fresh air. I was stuck where I was. And even worse, my mind was going into overdrive. Things were running through my mind, memories of the past adventure I had had. Fragments of memories returned to me, in a strange mish-mashed order.

"_My, my, my…I haven't had the chance to see my two girls together in a long time_…"

"_Sootopolis City has been ravaged by him already…_"

"_Legendary Pokemon aren't _meant _to be caught!_"

"_You traitor, Cal! You traitor! This is all your fault!"_

"_He's… destroyed Sootopolis?"_

"_Now, blast open this cave! Rayquaza awaits!"_

"_You're the real leader of this organization, aren't you Nathan? It wasn't my dad, was it?"_

"_I wanted those legendary Pokemon and the power Nathan said would come with them. I didn't _have _anything else in my life apart from what he promised me!_"

"_Sienna… I'm… I'm sorry…_"

I wanted to cry with confusion. And as I lay there, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, I thought about, _really _thought about what had happened to me. I'd saved the world once! I really had. Well, kind of…. Arceus had really done most of the work… if not _all _of it. All I had managed to do was bring the Arceus out of its rage. It had done everything else. When I thought about it… in comparison to what Arceus did… I did nothing. He had been the one to destroy the Pokeballs that ensnared Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza… he had been the one to inspire the fear in my father to stop him…

"_But you made that possible..._" a tiny voice piped up in the back of my mind. "_You brought Arceus out of its rage to _make _it do those things…_"

I found myself chuckling as another bizarre thought struck me. "_It can't really get much more clichéd than what happened, could it?" _I pondered to myself. "_It really is the stuff of kid's books and lame cartoons. I was prophesised to save the world… jeez… it's like the overused plot of a bad movie._"

As I thought that, bored, and desperate for something to do to keep my mind occupied, I brushed the Pokeballs that were sitting idly near me. I found myself picking up Meloi's. I knew it without even having to look at it. It was your ordinary, standard-issue Pokeball, exactly the same model that housed Aurora, Monty and Kiba (Cairo and Indigo lived in Safari Balls), but I could easily tell it from the others. It felt warm and heavy, the metal feeling almost staticy, like when you ran your hand over a television that had just been switched off. As I held it, I began idly minimizing it and maximizing it in my hand. I eventually pressed the centre button releasing my Ampharos. She looked at me with blearily with sleepy eyes.

"Amph?" she murmured slowly.

"Shhh…" I whispered, suddenly afraid she would wake up the others. I sat up and held out my arms. "Come here."

She cocked her head to one side and looked at me quizzically. But she still shuffled up to me and cuddled into my arms. I lay back again, feeling Meloi squeeze herself as close as she could. It felt strangely companionable feeling the gentle rise and fall of Meloi's chest, hearing her slow breathing. I pulled her as close as I could. It gave me comfort, having Meloi here. Having her gave me comfort and made me feel safe in a way that Mum, my friends or even Elliot couldn't give me. She was my Pokemon, my partner; the one person in the world who I knew for a fact would always be there for as long as she was able.

I was finally able to fall asleep with Meloi in my arms.

However, when morning came around, Meloi decided she had had enough of being sentimental and cosy with me. Either that or I was simply squeezing her too hard in my sleep. Either one was a distinct possibility. Whatever the reason, that morning, my pleasant sleep was rudely disturbed by a blast of electrical energy surging through me. I let out a shriek, sat bolt upright and saw everyone else also screaming and shooting to their feet. As I looked upwards, the smell of burning tickled my nostrils and I saw parts of the tent charred, blackened and…

"Holy—! The tent's on fire! The tent's on freaking _fire_!"

* * *

><p>"My tent… my poor tent…" I moaned, holding the shredded, charred and burned remains of my tent in my hands.<p>

Meloi was looking at me sheepishly, scuffing one of her feet against the ground. She looked genuinely upset and sorry at what she had done. I had to admit that it probably had been an accident, plain and simple. I let out a long sigh. "Oh well… I guess it can't be helped…" I said mournfully. "Nothing I can do now…"

"Don't worry about it." Elliot told me cheerfully. "We can get another one. Goldenrod city has a big department store, I'm sure they'll sell them cheaply."

"Guess so…"

I looked back towards Meloi who squeaked as I laid eyes on her. "It's okay, I'm not mad at you." I assured her, watching her face slowly come over with a sense of relief. "You didn't do it on purpose, right?"

She shook her head. "Amph…"

"Did I squeeze you too tight or something? Did you get a fright?"

"Amph! Amph!"

"I'll take that as a yes," I said, pushing myself back onto my feet, balling up the charred remnants of my tent and stuffing them in a plastic bag. "We should probably just get a move on. How long till we get to Goldenrod?" I asked no-one in particular.

"Two days, if we make good time." Christian cut in, holding Nikki's hand tightly.

"I hope you two navigators know where you're going," I said, looking pointedly from Elliot to Christian in turn.

They were the only two that had ever been _in _Johto before. Elliot, in his youth, had refused to take part in the Kanto League Circuit when he first left Pallet Town. Instead, he looped once around the region, collecting Grass and Dark Pokemon and then departing for Johto to take on the Johto Gyms. He then went to Hoenn, competing in Hoenn Gyms, then Sinnoh, doing the same process and then finally looping back around back to Kanto. Fair to say, he knew Johto fairly well.

As for Christian, he had spent all his life in and out of all the various regions. It was also fair to say he was well acquainted with Johto as well.

The two boys had eager grins spreading across their faces. "Of course!" They chorused gleefully.

I sighed, and chose not to pursue it. "Lead on then."

The routes leading up to Ecruteak City were surrounded with high hill and dotted with trees. Tall grasses that I knew were the perfect habitats for Pokemon sprung up all over the place. I even saw plenty of small, harmless Johto Pokemon scampering around being enthusiastically chased by young trainers and their starters. Basically the route was pretty overrun with Pokemon and foliage, and none of us were keen on hacking our way through it and disturbing anything. Thankfully, we found a small earthy path that snaked through the tall grass and the trees, leading us straight through the route.

We reached Ecruteak City by nightfall and it was too cold, too late and too dark for us to even think about dawdling to take in the sights. So we ran straight for the Pokemon Centre, got rooms and collapsed on our beds.

That was the end of the fifth day travelling.

On the morning of the sixth day, we stopped off very briefly in Ecruteak to eat before heading down to Goldenrod. It wouldn't take us long at all, only a few hours walk. It was a bizarre route to take to Goldenrod. We had to thread our way through a thick expanse of trees and then, after emerging into a clearing, turned west. After walking for a bit longer, we emerged in the most beautiful park I had ever seen. Sprawling grassy knolls, huge oak trees and a glorious water fountain… I took in everything hungrily, savouring the beauty. There were lots of trainers running around, families with small children and bug Pokemon

"This here is the National Park." Christian announced, like a well-practiced tour guide. "They hold Bug Catching contests here every week."

I shuddered at the thought. "_Why would anyone want to make a competition outta catching Bug Pokemon? Ew!"_

"Come on, the Pokeathlon dome is up ahead."

I heard Nikki let out a sad moan at this. "Do you really have to go?"

"I'm afraid so," he said, planting a small kiss on her forehead. "Not unless you guys want to compete in the Pokeathlon alongside me?"

I frowned. "What's the Pokeathlon when it's at home?"

"It's…" Christian murmured to himself before explaining further. "It's this big competition that trainers compete in with their Pokemon. They have five different courses, Speed, Jump, Power, Stamina and Skill and the trainer competes with their Pokemon on three separate challenges."

"What kind of challenges?" Scott asked, sounding interested.

"All sorts!" Christian said excitedly. "I'm competing in the Speed course today, so I'll be doing the hurdle dash, relay run and pennant capture. You try and get as many points as possible in each event and then the person with the most points wins."

"What do you win?" Elliot asked, sounding interested.

"Well, it depends on how many points from the competition you get…" Christian said. "At the end of the competition, they turn however many points from the competition into Battle Points which they put on this little card you get. And then you can use that balance to buy whatever prize you like."

"What kind of prizes?"

"Well I'm saving up for a Moon Stone." Christian said with a shrug. "But you get all sorts there. All kinds of evolutionary stones, TMs, stat-enhancing things…"

"So why are you competing?" I interrupted before anyone else got a chance to ask.

Christian shrugged at my question. "My agent seems to think it's a good idea to make a name for myself in places that aren't Sinnoh." He said with a sigh. "Even though I'm pretty well known in the contest circuit, he claims it isn't enough…"

Nikki looked stricken. "You should really take a break sometime…"

"I will, I will…" Christian said with a grin. "I'm thinking of taking a little vacation from the contest circuit anyway."

"What? When!" Nikki cried eagerly.

"After this year's circuit."

Nikki visibly deflated.

"I'm already involved in this one, I can't drop out now!" he replied sheepishly.

As Nikki and Christian bickered behind me, Elliot led us through National Park. We reached the end of it within a few minutes and came out into a small building. The building was overrun with people and we had to thread our way through to reach the desk at the middle.

"You guys can leave if you want," Christian said airily. "I gotta head up to the Pokeathlon Dome up past here anyway."

"Oh no!" Nikki's eyes started to well with tears.

"No, wait." I cut in. "I'd… I'd like to see this Pokeathlon thing. Can _anyone _compete?"

This question flummoxed Christian. "Well… well yeah! Anyone can! I mean, they're always _encouraging _new people to take part for more competition."

"Great." I nodded. I surprised myself when the next thing that came out of my mouth was "I want to enter."

I swear to God that the five people standing around me almost dropped to the ground in a comical anime-style fall.

"_You _want to enter?" Christian sounded shocked.

"Yeah. And?" I folded my arms and gave them my best impression of an authoritative look. "I still have time to kill. And the Pokeathlon sounds really interesting. I want to give it a go, is that so bad?"

"No… I guess not…"

Everyone exchanged looks for a few seconds and then Elliot suddenly stepped forward. "All right. I'm gonna enter too."

Quick as a flash, before anyone had time to digest that information, Scott also took a few steps forward. "Me too."

Determined not to be left out, Jasmine called out "I'll enter too. I'm not gonna let you guys have _all _the fun. Or all the glory."

That only left one. We then all looked expectantly at Nikki who just squeaked. "Um… no… I think I'll just watch… I think I'm better suited to contests anyway."

"Fair enough," I said flippantly and then turned to Christian. "So, lead on Christian. Let's go to the Pokeathlon."

It was simple to get signed up for the Pokeathlon. After only a few minutes of chatting to the attendant at the main desk, and after signing a form I was issued a battle points card. While the others got signed up, I debated what circuit to enter. Christian decided to give me some insider info on some of the courses. I had to admit, the speed contest sounded the ideal one. It fitted my Pokemon best. I knew Cairo could fly really fast. Both Meloi and Monty were fast too, especially with their Quick Attacks. Kiba was pretty fast too. After a long time debating, I chose to enter Meloi, Monty and Cairo.

Only problem was, I'd be up against Christian.

After everyone signed up, our standings looked like this. Christian and I were participating in the Speed Course, Elliot had gone for the Skill Course, Scott had gone for the Power Course and Jasmine had opted in to the Stamina Course. Before we entered, I was given the colour red to wear and also red scarves to tie somewhere around my Pokemon. While Meloi and Cairo were happy enough to take the scarves, Monty put up a fight. A vicious fight. A full five minutes, too many cuts to count and a Persian with a dented ego, I finally got the damn thing on him.

Unfortunately, after spending so long getting Monty to wear his stupid red scarf and explaining to my Pokemon what we were about to do, I had managed to miss finding out what Pokemon Christian was using, _or _what Pokemon anyone else were using. By the time I had everything straightened out, I was too late.

"Can all those please competing in the Speed Course please make their way down to the track?"

I cursed. Just my luck.

"That's us." Christian looked at me. "We go onto the track now. We get to meet the other contestants and get to grips with the track before they let the audience in."

"Great," I said but my bravado was starting to fail me. Was this really a good idea? Was this really a good idea for _me, _hapless and luckless as I already was to compete in a sport competition! My forte was in cooking for God's sake! I was already starting to regret my decision…

The others bade us good luck and scurried off to find seats, whilst Christian and I headed on to the track. I admit, I had to gasp when I caught sight of the stadium. It was huge. Build in a perfect circle, with a bright red track running around the entire length of it, and rows and rows of seats sat like Sharpedo teeth build up around the track.

"This is only the Speed Stadium, believe it or not." Christian said with a laugh. "They have whole other separate stadiums for the other events."

"How big _is _this thing!" I remarked in shock at that comment.

"Pretty big," Christian said airily. "Oh, look. They're setting up for Hurdle Dash."

I turned my attention towards a couple of uniformed officials heading up the separate segments of the tracks, setting up hurdles. They were quite high hurdles, I realised nervously.

"Okay, kids. This is how it's gonna work." I heard someone say behind me. "Simple as anything. You're gonna walk out onto the middle of the track, release your Pokemon and you'll be introduced. Then the events will start! You'll be given instructions before each event, but I'll go over them just now for the benefit of the newbies here. For Hurdle Dash, all you have to do is instruct all three of your Pokemon to run down the tracks, jumping over the hurdles. Two trainers will run at a time, before the next two take on the circuit. Your time will be recorded and submitted. However, if you knock down any hurdles, you will receive a five second penalty. The winner is the trainer with the smallest total time."

"Eeek…"

"Now, for the Relay Run. Each of your Pokemon takes it in turn to run around the track as many times as they can in the allotted time. You are free to recall and substitute your Pokemon as you like, however each Pokemon must take a turn on the track at least once. The person that manages the most laps, wins."

"Makes sense…"

"Finally, the Pennant Capture." The announcer concluded. "A selection of flags will be placed all around the track. You have three minutes to gather as many as you can. Your Pokemon will be rotated in a specific order to take a turn. Each of your Pokemon must take a turn at capturing flags otherwise you will be disqualified."

I let out a nervous sigh. I was _really_ beginning to regret this…

"So, if you could all take your place next to your allotted markers, we'll get the people in and we'll start the Speed Pokeathlon!"

A sick, twisty, churned up feeling gurgled in the bottom of my stomach and Christian gently pointed out my marker, which I stood at. I was at the end of the line, with Christian beside me. Two other girls stood along the line, making a mere four total competitors. I swallowed nervously as people began milling in. I looked down at the red track whilst everyone got settled. Soon enough, the buzz and excitement settled down as the announcer cried into the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Speed Course of the Pokeathlon! Now, let's introduce the competitors! First, we have our challenge veteran: Summer!"

The girl at the end of the line suddenly threw three Pokeballs out in front of her. Out burst a Linoone, a Furret and a Scyther.

"She's here competing with Furret, Scyther and Linoone! With a record as unblemished as hers, can any of these challengers hope to take her down?"

The crowd was going wild now. My nerves were jangling and stretched to breaking point. I _really _did not want to do this anymore…

"And our next competitor is the lovely Kate!" the announcer carried on regardless.

The second girl also threw her Pokeballs. Out burst three Flying Pokemon, a Staraptor, a Pidgeot and a Swellow.

"She's here with her trusty team of Flying Pokemon! Pidgeot, Swellow and Staraptor! A formidable force!"

The girl smiled sweetly into the face of the applause.

"Next, we have a very reputable opponent! A regular contest winner of Sinnoh and Hoenn, a champion, and something of a celebrity, in his native region! Please make some noise for Christian Hart!"

The screaming that erupted when Christian's name was called almost deafened me. And it was primarily women's screams.

"Easy there, ladies… he _has _a girlfriend!" the announcer cried, amid furious boos. I had to fight not to laugh. I could just imagine Nikki's reaction up there in the crowd…

Christian then deftly loosed three Pokeballs, revealing a Grovyle, Staraptor and a Jigglypuff.

"With his trusted team of Jigglypuff, Staraptor and Grovyle!"

The crowd cheered again and this time it was my turn.

"And we have a new challenger taking on the Speed Course for the first time! Please welcome first-time competitor Sienna!"

I waved nervously at the cheering crowd. No-one knew who I was, thank God. But then again, I think the only people that knew explicitly what went on two years ago were the Kanto Gym Leaders and Elite Four, and the Hoenn Gym Leaders. Thankfully, the general public of Hoenn and Kanto weren't privy to the same information… So far as I knew, the people of Hoenn knew that attempts had been made on Kyogre and Groudon, but that was it. I wasn't too sure if people from Johto, Sinnoh and Unova knew what had happened… I doubted it, but you could never be completely sure.

I swiftly released my three Pokemon. Each burst out of their Pokeballs and thankfully stayed still and didn't go running off.

"She's here competing with Ampharos, Persian and Vibrava!"

Meloi loved the applause and she immediately took the opportunity to play up to it, gambolling about and sending out sparks of electricity. I watched her display, mortified. Cairo just looked around terrified and Monty simply looked bored.

"Well, let's get ready for the first event! Could Kate and Summer please make their way to the track for the Hurdle Dash?"

I barely even heard what the announcer was saying as he described the course. I could only wait in anticipation to see exactly what I was expected to do. As the starting pistol went off, I was able to see better what was going on due to a giant, flat screen television screen showing the track in an overhead view. Six Pokemon were rampaging down the track, running almost impossibly fast and leaping over massive hurdles.

"Eeek." I said softly.

Within less than a minute, the first Pokemon, a Furret had crossed the finish line. A nail biting six seconds later, it was followed with a whole scrum of Pokemon all crossing the line. It was impossible to tell which Pokemon took second, third, fourth or anything. The only thing that was certain was the last place Scyther who scuttled over the line a full five seconds after its counterparts.

The announcer boomed that Kate had taken away a total time of one minute and twenty seconds, whilst Summer had just edged ahead with a total time of one minute and seventeen, giving her the first place so far.

"How?" I asked Christian, confused. "Summer's Scyther came last."

"Yes, but her Furret and Linoone took first and second," Christian explained. "Furret was ahead by a full six seconds, and Lioone was ahead by another second. That meant it negated the fact Scyther came in last."

"How do you know that?" I asked in awe. "You must have been really paying attention!

Christian grinned and pointed at the overhead flat screen television. There was a list of every Pokemon's time flashing and blinking back at me. I laughed nervously. "Okay, fair enough."

"And now, let's have the second competitors, Christian and Sienna!"

I swore.

I took as much time as possible to trudge up to the starting point, dragging my heels and scuffing my shoes as I followed Christian. The applause from his fans were deafening. I could barely hear my own_thoughts _let alone anything else. Christian however took it in his stride, like it was an everyday occurrence.

But then again, with Christian it probably was.

"Sienna?" he ventured as we took our markers.

"Yeah?"

"Good luck." He smiled.

"Yeah, you too."

I took a few moments to explain what was going on to my Pokemon. Whilst Meloi looked eager and excited at the prospect of the glory from winning a competition, Monty looked disgusted and Cairo looked horrified. I very quickly had to resort to bribery to convince Monty and Cairo to participate. A plate of Poffins sealed the deal for me.

Christian was standing away from me calmly giving instructions to his team of Grovyle, Staraptor and Jigglypuff. While I knew that Grovyle and Staraptor by default were wicked fast, I wasn't so sure about his Jigglypuff. Between you and me, I was already tickled pink at the mere thought that Christian even _owned _a Jigglypuff. That little roly-poly ball of pink cuteness didn't seem to suit Christian at all. And could the thing even run? Jigglypuff were by nature heavy, rounded things. Did he really expect to win?

"Competitors! On your mark! Get set…"

I tensed horribly. My Pokemon were also tense, getting ready to spring into action.

"Go!"

"Everyone! Use Quick Attack!" I bellowed, letting out a stream of agitation in one fell swoop.

I fully expected them to stay stock-still. But to my extreme delight and surprise, my Pokemon immediately began to speed away into the distance, following the track. As I watched them go, tailing onto Christian's team, I let out a juddering sigh.

"_This really isn't going to go well…_"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Filler chapters! I'm so sorry... I really wanted to give Christian some air time before he leaves at the end of the next chapter! BUT Sienna meets her father again at the end of Chapter 8 :)**

**An announcement: At the request of one of my DeviantART readers, and after the idea being favourably recieved by other readers, Spirited (and its sequel and expansion) now has its own dedicated DeviantART group! The link for which is on my profile. Anyone who likes this story, please join the group if you can. I'm gonna be holding contests, one reader is writing a fanfiction and drawing some fanart! Please join if you can!**

**WarriorSwift: Yeah, not much happens in the intermittent chapters. But they're good for learning about the characters and the dynamics! **

**Sniper Mudkip: I really honestly don't know what to do with Kiba. Kyaaah! And I am still reading your fanfiction by the way!**

**ArchXDeath: Yes! I called you kohai! Yeah, Elliot likes to drink. Haha! :) What you said about the casualness of the conversations and relationships was really sweet, I totally understand what you were getting at.**

**May and Dawn are the best: hee hee, Nikki and Christian = SQUEEE! Cute!**

**TwewyReaperGirl: MARSHMALLOW-RICEKRISPY TREATS! Nom nom nom nom nom! :) **

**Padfoot Arcanine: Thank you very much! Your reviews are always a pleasure to read. **

**Aeorga: Thank you so much for all the reviewing! :) It really makes my day. **

**Manser77: LOL! That made me laugh. An Abork... Scott would meet his match with an Arbok!**

**WildCroconaw: Yes.. it is interesting... :) **

**Please R & R!**


	8. Pokeathlon Go! Part II

I was overcome with a sense of strange, competitive urgency and the only way to let it out was to just scream. "Come on! Run!" I yelled, my heart banging furiously in my chest.

My heart was thumping so fast and so strong that I was terrified it was going to beat right out of my chest. I watched, anticipation reverberating and nerves stretched to breaking points as my Pokemon stampeded across the track. I desperately tried to pick out my Pokemon from within the cloud of dust, but it was almost impossible to deduce who was who. But there was one thing I _could _make out. A tiny rolling pink ball streaming ahead of the pack. It was launching itself effortlessly into the air, clearing the hurdles without any trouble. It gained more and more speed as it rolled, pulling away from the group with frightening speed. I'm pretty sure my jaw was hanging open as I watched the bizarre sight unfold.

"Look at that folks!" The announcer was hollering into the microphone, its static screeching hurting my ears. The crowd was screaming in excitement, probably twice or even three times more than they had been when it had been Summer and Kate's turn at the contest. Was Christian really _that _much of a celebrity? "Christian Hart is making Jigglypuff use Rollout to compensate for its low speed!"

My heart juddered to a stop. "What a dirty trick!" I found myself saying out loud.

From next to me, Christian laughed delightedly. I cursed, clamping my hands over my mouth. I hadn't expected him to hear that over the screaming of the crowd.

From where I was standing, as the Pokemon advanced around the curved track, it was proving extremely difficult trying to figure out what Pokemon was leading. I couldn't see the overhead screens either. Unable to see who was in the lead and who was trailing behind, I compensated by just screaming encouragement at my Pokemon.

"Come on, Meloi, Cairo, Monty! You can do it!"

I was dithering between being worried one minute and not worried the next about how my Pokemon were faring in the first course. I knew that Meloi was a determined little sod, much like myself. Anything she couldn't make up for in speed, she would find _some _way to compensate for it. Monty was wicked fast, even I knew that. His attacks had always been speedy and nimble, so I knew he would have no problems keeping up and could _maybe_ even be a pack leader. As for Cairo, I knew his wings and agility would be an advantage. He wouldn't have to strain himself as much to jump over the hurdles either. But I was still worried…

It turns out; I had good reason to be.

The race finished and the results quickly flashed up on screen. Christian and I edged around the track, craning our necks and straining our eyes to see how we had done.

I swore.

Christian's Jigglypuff had _somehow _rolled itself into first place, followed almost immediately by his Grovyle. However, Monty had somehow clawed back into third place (albeit a good five seconds after Jigglypuff and Grovyle), but to my despair, Christian's Staraptor had finished in fourth place only a second after Monty. Cairo had come through after Staraptor, followed by Meloi in a dismal last place.

I let out a low, agonising groan as the times flashed up on-screen. In first place overall was Summer with one minute seventeen, second place was Christian with one minute nineteen, Kate with one minute twenty, and then myself with a horrible time of one minute thirty one.

"How on earth did you claw your way up to second?" I asked Christian darkly who was smiling and waving at the crowd as the announcer shouted out the results. Girls were chanting his name, much to the obvious distaste of Summer and Kate, and probably to poor Nikki up in the stands. I still couldn't believe this. I knew Christian was well-known in Sinnoh, being something of a celebrity, but I hadn't expected that would have translated to _here_. Christian seemed to be taking it all in his stride.

Christian grinned at me as I quizzed him again how he had somehow taken the second place. "Remember, it's not about the _individual _Pokemon's times." He explained. "It's the overall score.

I couldn't argue with this.

"I hate you," I deadpanned.

He was still grinning as he started to explain what he meant. "You can still redeem yourself," he stated lightly. "The next rounds are the Relay Run and Pennant Capture. And even if you do horrible on the Relay Run, I'm sure you can bring it back in the Pennant Capture."

"How?" I asked.

"Look at Summer and Kate's Pokemon. Especially Kate's."

I blinked, confused. "They're all birds?"

"Exactly. And in the Pennant Capture, _anything goes._" Christian said with a wicked smile. "Your Pokemon can use any attacks it wants to take out its competitors and grab their flags. And look at that fine specimen of an Ampharos you've got there…"

"Ohh…" The penny finally dropped and I understood. A triumphant grin spread across my face. "I get it."

"The Relay Run is probably good for your Pokemon too," Christian continued to explain as the points were totalled and tallied up. We still had a few minutes to kill before the final points were revealed. I was eager to delay the process as long as possible anyway; I didn't want to see how badly I had done.

"I'm pretty sure what your Pokemon lack in speed they can make up for in stamina." He surmised.

I frowned. "I don't get it. How can having good stamina help me on the speed course?"

"It means your Pokemon can last longer on the track. It takes ages to switch out a Pokemon and release another one. The less you can do that, the better. Imagine how much distance you could get on someone by the time they recall one, release another and that Pokemon starts running?"

I thought about this. "Yeah. I guess you're right. Jeez, Christian. How do you know all this?"

Christian shrugged lightly. "My agents make me research everything I do before I enter them. They think it'll be "bad press" for them and me if I lose. So I have to do it right."

"God…" I whispered, thinking of the pressure and stress that poor boy must have been under, just for him to do something that he really loved. "That must be hard."

There was a look on Christian's face that I couldn't quite identify. "C'est la vie." He said lightly.

"And now! Here are the totals for the first round!" The announcer boomed, making me almost leap six feet in the air.

We watched as overhead boards tallied up the points. I immediately started to pick out the board, looking for my own score. But as soon as I caught a glance of it, I wanted to hide my head in the sand. A terrible total of 127 points was flashing back at me, right at the bottom of the leader board. Fourth place. But I already knew this. I _had_ had the worst overall time.

"Don't panic." Christian interjected smoothly. "It's all about points after all. If they have bad rounds and you have good ones, you still could come out on top."

"Who are you trying to kid, Mr One-Hundred-And-Forty-Five points?"

Christian grinned. His total of 145 was just below the current leader Summer's 150 points, followed closely by Kate's 143. It was only me trailing embarrassingly behind with a mere 127.

I had to admit though, when it came time for it, the relay run went a lot better than I had expected. While it was true that my three weren't as fast as most of the other competitors, they had an advantage with their stamina, just like Christian had predicted. We had barely cleared a lap before both Kate and Christian had to recall their first Pokemon and replace them with another. And replacing took a long time. By the time they had released another Pokemon, Meloi had already streaked ahead, Summer's Staraptor close on her heels.

In all, I only made four substitutions. I switched out Meloi for Cairo when she showed signs of tiring, but Cairo was fast enough to quickly catch up with his competition, taking another few laps. Monty took Cairo's place a few laps later, easily and effortlessly clearing a couple more. Monty got ahead, so while he was comfortably ahead of the whole pack, I switched him out for Meloi. And for the final ten second dash, I let Monty take over.

I was amazed when the points were displayed on screen. I had taken third place! Third place with a total of ten laps! I was two laps ahead of Kate who had managed just eight, but one short of Summer who had finished with eleven. And as for Christian…

"Thirteen?" I gasped in shock.

Christian merely shot me another dazzling grin.

With the totals in for the second round, the leader board now looked like this. Christian had taken an additional 130 points from the Relay Run, making his total a cool 275. Summer had gained 110 points to add to her score of 150 giving her an overall 260, demoting her to second place. My extra 100 points now gave me a relatively more comfortable score of 227, edging me ahead of Kate's overall 223. I couldn't believe it! I was currently in third place overall! But how…?

Taking Christian to the side, I quizzed him on how on earth I had beaten a trainer with three Flying type Pokemon, often the speediest Pokemon ever.

Christian had a theory. "Flying Pokemon don't normally fare all that well in Speed Contests. Their stamina and power aren't brilliant, meaning they're a pushover if they collide with something. I mean, I was watching Kate's Pokemon through the competition. They were going so fast that they kept hitting into rocks and other Pokemon. This would slow them down. And most Flying Types take a while to get up to full speed as well."

I opened my mouth to ask another question, still confused but Christian silenced me immediately.

"Just don't think about it, and be happy you are where you are," he said with a good-natured grin. "Not many first time competitors get anything beyond fourth place on their first time. Stay focused on the competition, Sienna."

I sighed. "Fine…" I said in a drawling voice, before stomping off to get ready for Pennant Capture.

The Pennant Capture actually went really well for me! Meloi excelled in this one in particular, easily dispatching her rivals with wicked thunder attacks causing them to drop whatever flags they had for her to eagerly gather up. Monty also fared really well, getting in with ninja like speed and stealth, stealing flags out from under the noses of the other Pokemon. Cairo did well too, flying expertly above the heads of the other Pokemon, easily evading attacks and keeping whatever flags he caught firmly to himself.

I was so busy gathering up all the flags my Pokemon were giving me; I barely had time to watch my competitors.

The results for the Pennant Capture took no time at all to gather up. Christian had taken the lead, capturing an amazing twenty-six flags. I was shocked. I had thought _I _had done well! However, Summer and I tied by capturing twenty-two flags each. Kate trailed in last place with a dismal score of twelve flags. I winced. Probably due to the fact her Flying Pokemon were easy targets for Meloi's electric attacks. I almost felt bad for her. Almost.

I was on tenterhooks as the Pennant Capture Points scores were revealed. Christian's total score for Pennant Capture was a 78, whilst Summer and I took another 66 points each. A further 36 points were added to Kate's score.

I was desperately trying to add up totals, but maths had never been my strong point. While I was struggling with numbers and figures, the announcers decided to throw another spanner in the works and give out bonus points!

Christian's team of three pokemon took an additional ten points _each _giving him another thirty points, _plus _another twenty for being the points leader. Summer took a tie for points' leader giving her a further twenty, plus another ten. I was shocked to get two extra scores of ten, giving me an extra twenty points to my total. My head was swimming. Where were all these extra points coming from! And what were they for!

They released the final scores in reverse order. In last place, was Kate who had a final total of 259. My heart leapt. I hadn't taken fourth! My picture flashed up next, with a score of 313! I couldn't believe it! I had taken third place!

They were getting ready to announce the winner. I wasn't worried about Kate winning. I knew, and I'm pretty sure Kate _and_ most of the audience knew for a fact Christian had already won. He had gained too many extra points at the end of the competition for Summer to catch up with him.

And I was proved right. Summer's came up for second place with an admittedly impressive total of 356, but the crowd exploded in cheers when Christian came out on top with an incredible score of 403!

We barely had any time to celebrate before we were ushered away to get our points logged on our battle card. We didn't have any time to even celebrate or congratulate (or offer commiserations) to our fellow competitions, before we were banished back to the seats as they had to get ready for the next contest. As we moved away, a sudden hoard of fans descended on the track, all heading towards Christian. All women too. I cringed away, but was suddenly shocked to see Nikki running at the head of the crowd. I could only watch in amazement as the normally shy and retiring Nikki totally ignored me and threw herself into Christian's arms, sharing a passionate embrace in front of the whole stadium. I'm pretty sure someone even got it on camera. The crowd of fans started muttering and murmuring angrily at this. They started to get really restless, all obviously angered at seeing their idol kissing another girl, but Christian knew how to diffuse the situation. He quickly called over his Staraptor, helped Nikki on, leapt on himself, and flew both him and Nikki up to the top of the stadium. Leaving me behind.

"Gee, thanks." I said huffily, watching them disappear up into the rows of seats in the stadium, leaving me behind in a sea of angry Christian Hart fans. I cast a look behind me at Cairo who was floating lazily next to me, watching the crowds in amazement. "Hurry up and evolve into a Flygon so I can do that too."

"Vii?" Cairo asked confused.

"Never mind," I said haughtily. But my anger slipped away when I saw my three Pokemon looking at me quizzically. I smiled, remembering that they _had _just won me third place and saved me the humiliation of coming last. "But you guys did really well. I'm really proud of you all. We got third place!"

Meloi was the only one who seemed happy. She danced about, letting loose little bolts of electricity and cheering. Monty just looked disdainfully at me as if telling me off for putting him through that indignity. Cairo still looked confused at the concept of evolving, trying to look up and down at his body as if he was about to spontaneously evolve right there on the spot. I let out another exasperated sigh, recalled my three Pokemon to their balls and stalked up to the seats.

I was given a quick kiss and congratulations from Elliot before he had to rush down to compete in the Skill Course. He chose Roserade, Cacturne and Umbreon to compete with. I cheered him on, screaming encouragement as he worked his way through the courses, eventually finishing with an overall second place!

No sooner had the Skill course concluded than it was time for the Jump Course. None of us were competing in this one so we simply watched and relaxed, the six of us laughing and joking at the expense of some of the other competitors. Next, it was Jasmine's turn to participate in the Stamina Course. She used her Sandslash Terra, her Quilava Sulphur and her Azumarill Mizu. She did reasonably well, coming in a close third. She was disappointed in her performance though, but I did my best to remind her there wasn't anything wrong with third place. It didn't really work.

We were all amazed, but not exactly surprised when Scott cruised easily into first place in his Power Course, using his newly evolved (and quite terrifying) Rhydon, Marowak and Quagsire. I was slightly disappointed he only used Pokemon that I had already seen before. So far, I only knew four of his Pokemon. I _really _wanted to know what others he had. He seemed like such an unnaturally strong trainer for his age… In a way, he kind of reminded me of a younger Elliot…

It was late by the time the Pokeathlon concluded for the day. After the five courses had been and gone, the announcer thanked everyone for their attendance and participation. We then left.

"I didn't expect it to be this late," I said with a sigh, looking out at the darkening skies.

"Maybe not a good idea to go to Goldenrod this late," Elliot pointed out. "It's another hour by the time we get there. Maybe a good idea to get dinner somewhere tonight and just pitch camp and head to Goldenrod first thing in the morning."

"I think so too," Christian cut in. "I originally planned to leave for Sinnoh tonight, but… I think I'll stick around tonight and leave tomorrow. At least we can all get one last night together,"

Nikki had tears in her eyes and she was clinging onto Christian like he was her last tie to the world. Scott looked indifferent at the display of affection, and oddly enough, so did Jasmine. I swallowed, and then spoke up again.

"Shall we get dinner?"

"Oh, I want to go and get something from the battle points counter, first." Christian piped up. "Is that okay?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, of course. Go for it."

"I want to go see the prizes too!" Jasmine said, her words practically crashing into each other as she gabbled them out and took off, overtaking Christian as she did so.

I sighed after her, before also voicing my want to look at prizes.

I was surprised with the choices of prizes. They had a bizarrely wide range, starting with things that were ridiculously cheap. Bags of berries for twenty battle points, boxes of apricorns to make Pokeballs with for fifty points, and then there were the more expensive things. Most of them I wasn't too familiar with, many of them were items you gave to Pokemon to evolve them by trading, a concept I _still _didn't know much about. I saw one thing in particular that caught my mind.

It sat in the centre of a small velvet cushion, looking like a fire was burning and glowing right from the centre of its rocky heart.

"A Fire Stone…" I breathed out slowly.

I wasn't stupid. I knew that a lot of Pokemon couldn't evolve without certain conditions being met. Some had to be happy, some could only evolve at a certain time of day, some could only evolve through trading and _some _needed special evolutionary stones.

I knew that Kiba was one of those.

Kiba, a young Growlithe, could evolve into Arcanine by the use of a Fire Stone.

Only problem was, Fire Stones were almost impossibly hard to get a hold of. And the one staring me in the face clocked in at a full thousand battle points.

"I can't afford that…" I whined, practically sliding down the glass panel separating me from the prize cabinet, amidst odd looks from the cashier.

"Evolving someone?" Christian asked.

I hadn't noticed Christian had sidled up to me. Elliot and the girls were busy investigating a collection of items to be held by Pokemon in battle, and Scott was… I don't even know where Scott was.

"Uhh…" the question threw me as I thought about the real implications about evolving Kiba. He was so cute, playful, fluffy and most importantly, easy to handle now… that would change so much once he was evolved. And Arcanines were huge and powerful, I mean, I was still a little intimidated by the one my _mum _owned. I couldn't be guaranteed I could get such a big, powerful Pokemon to listen to me. "Well… I'm not sure. I have a Growlithe… and he's… well, I'm wondering if it would be better for him to evolve."

Christian smiled at me. "Well, why not get it? Just keep it until you're ready to evolve him. And then if you decide not to, just sell the stone. You'll get a decent price for it."

"Can't afford it," I said miserably. "I only won three hundred and odd points back there."

"Hmm." Christian murmured. "Well I'm sure that can be easily taken care of."

"I'm not stealing." I said at once.

Christian grinned. "I'm not asking you to steal anything," he said smoothly before tapping on the desk to get the cashier's attention. As soon as she turned to face him, he spoke. "One Moon Stone and one Fire Stone, please."

"That'll be one thousand five hundred points, please."

"Wuh?" was all I managed to say before my Points Card was swiped from my hands and handed over to the cashier. Before I even knew what was happening, Christian had been handed two wrapped packages and my Points Card was returned to me.

"Here," Christian handed me the bigger of the two parcels. "One Fire Stone."

I looked at it astounded. I could feel a faint heat radiating from the wrapped parcel and what felt like a pulse beating through it. A Fire Stone. A Fire Stone that I could use to evolve Kiba. Gratitude started to well up inside me, and I looked up at Christian in awe. I couldn't believe his generosity.

"But… but why…?" I found myself asking. It was the only thing I _could _legitimately say.

He was smiling again, like he always did. "Think of it as a late birthday present." He said with a cheeky wink.

I still couldn't believe it though. I had assumed Christian was saving up all the points he could get for the Moon Stone, and that he couldn't afford anything else other than that. Confused, I had to ask him. "But… didn't you want to save up for the Moon Stone?"

"They had them half price, meaning adding your points to mine gave me enough." He said with a grin. "You'll still have maybe a hundred points left."

I looked up at Christian with a wide smile. I understood why Nikki loved him so much. He was a kind, generous and well-mannered young man. I couldn't believe I had ever been sceptical of him. "Thank you, Christian,"

"You're welcome," he replied.

With that, he walked back to join Nikki, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her into a soft embrace. The way the two of them smiled at each other sent a warm fuzzy feeling over me. They were a good match. Same as how I certainly hoped Elliot and I were a good match. But as I saw Nikki and Christian embrace, my eyes inexplicably touched on Jasmine. My heart plummeted when I saw the look on her face. She looked sad as she watched Nikki and Christian. Like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. And an unmistakable tinge of jealousy reflected in her normally sparkling, cheerful eyes.

I made myself look away. Jasmine had always joked about her being the only one out of me, herself and Nikki to not have had a meaningful relationship, but until now, I thought that was all it had been. Just a joke. Was it possible that the issue ran deeper than the proud Jasmine cared to admit?

I looked down at the Fire Stone in my hands. I could feel its weight pressing down on me in more than one way. I could evolve Kiba now. I held in my hands the ways and means to evolve him.

But did I want him to evolve? Did I want him to change? Change from the over-affectionate, playful, cuddly and excitable Growlithe I knew and loved to a massive, strong powerhouse of an Arcanine?

As well as that, I was missing the most important point.

Did _Kiba _want to evolve?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, we've officially got the filler and mindless chapters out of the way of this fic. Next chapter? Sienna and Cal are finally reaquainted :)**

**Sniper Mudkip: I do still read, I don't always have time to review every story that I read, but I really am still reading! :) And yeah, Sienna now has the means to evolve Kiba. But will she really do it? It's a big desicion for her (and me!)**

**WarriorSwift: Haha! Meloi is a walking disaster! :) And thank you! I'm sure your drawings are just as good! **

**Aeroga: Christian is scheduled to come back later on in the story :) And thanks for joining the Spirited group!**

**Splashstorm: Hey, don't worry about it! Everyone has a life outside . But I'm glad you've been able to catch up!**

**Wowfan123: Wow, you caught up in just over a day? Nice! :) Thanks for joining! I'll be posting up details of the contest within the next xouple days :)**

**May and Dawn are the best: I've never seen a Pokeathlon being written about either... so I thought I'd give it a go.**

**TwewyReaperGirl: YUM! OM NOM NOM!**

**So, yeah. Everyone who hasn't already should check out the SpiritedGroup on DeviantART (link on my profile) as there has been some amazing fanart and fanfiction posted up. **

**I'm also gonna hold a contest in which someone can get their OC a cameo role in the story. All you'll have to do is submit an OC bio alongside a short piece of writing that details your OC in a battle against any one of the Spirited cast. (Just so I can see how you battle them). Details will be posted on the deviantART. **

**Thanks everyone :) Please R & R**


	9. Fathers and Free Spirits

The morning was hard. Saying goodbye to Christian was difficult enough for all of us, but almost impossible for poor Nikki. She begged and pleaded and appealed to her boyfriend, desperately trying to get him to stay. But I knew, and Christian knew, and even Nikki knew that he couldn't stay. He had too many other duties and priorities back in Sinnoh.

So, the morning was full of tears and protests. Eventually, Christian had to put his foot down and leave, otherwise he would never make it back in time. He did however promise to come visit us all when we got back to Pallet Town. Nikki took a small comfort in that, and after one final hug and embrace, we all bade him goodbye.

While Nikki recovered, I took the time to quickly phone Mum and let her know we were just outside Goldenrod City. She sounded nervous and jittery on the phone as I told her this, making me promise to check in with her once I met up with Dad. I assured her I would, and then we were on our way to Goldenrod.

Goldenrod City was _huge. _It was such a big and bustling city with too many streets and alleys and massive buildings that we couldn't figure out where _anything _was, much less a dojo. I was agitated and irascible throughout the whole procedure, and probably a nightmare for everyone around me. But for once I didn't care about annoying my friends; I knew they'd get over it anyway. I was more interested in finding the dojo. My agitation was only intensifying the longer we walked around the Goldenrod streets, finding nothing. My hands were clenched around my Pokeballs, my mind fixed solidly on one thing.

I was going to see my Father. I was going to get answers after a whole year and a half of waiting. I was finally going to be able to understand _why. _Why he joined up with the organization. _Why_, if he only joined up to protect me and Mum, did he still try and capture Legendaries, act like an angered monster and set those Legendaries on us? And then why… why he apologised to me… why he protected me from the captured Arceus's wrath. Even why he treated me the way he did as a child.

And most importantly, what he wanted me for. Why he had requested to see me.

After another hour of helplessly scouring the streets, Elliot finally put pride aside and asked for directions. The first person he spoke to, a young mother and her two young children knew exactly the dojo we were referring to.

"Oh, that dojo? My son is going to start attending there next year. Its leader is a very kind man. He teaches young children that aren't really able to afford to go to the trainer school how to work with Pokemon. It's just down that street and then you take a left. You can't miss it."

"Was that woman really referring to my father?" I asked darkly as we moved down the street the woman have pointed us down in. The words "its leader is a very kind man" kept wriggling around my brain, and I was having a very difficult time matching them up to the image of my father.

"I'm still confused as to how a man like him, a _wanted criminal _was able to just open up a dojo in the middle of Goldenrod City!" Scott said hotly.

"People wanted to keep everything that happened at Mt Chimney and Sootopolis a secret," Elliot explained patiently. "The Gym Leaders and Elite Four from Hoenn and Kanto thought that if they kept the fact that Groudon and Kyogre and Rayquaza really _existed _a secret, nothing further would happen. They didn't want people flocking there trying to find them. Yeah sure, all the Gym Leaders from Kanto and Hoenn know, and a fair few members of the Elite Four, and probably a lot of people from Lavaridge and Sootopolis too but—"

"But didn't some other stupid teams tried summon Kyogre and Groudon _before _all this happened? Surely they would know from that?"

"As far as the rest of the public is concerned, Scott, that is just rumours. And that was like… six years ago or something… People have long since forgotten about it. I just thank God those kids were able to stop them." Elliot dismissed Scott's claims airily, whilst I remembered something Wallace had once told me. Years ago, there had been an attempt by two teams of trainers to capture Kyogre and Groudon. Thankfully, a couple of kids had stepped in and stopped it from developing into something more catastrophic. Again, it had been a matter, much like the attempt _I_ had been involved in, that was only known to the people who had been concerned with it. The general public wasn't privy to that kind of information. But the Gym Leaders and Elite Four of Hoenn _had _known. It was one of the reasons that Wallace was so quick to believe me when I presented him my case.

I stopped thinking about that just in time to hear Elliot summing up his big speech. "And Goldenrod City is a big place… almost _anyone _could blend in here. Even people who had served prison sentences."

"Wanted criminals." Scott growled.

"Not exactly. Sienna's dad served his time. He didn't escape. He's legally obliged to leave prison. He's not classed as a criminal anymore."

"He should be." I said darkly.

"We're here for you, Sienna." Elliot assured me comfortingly. "He won't try anything while we're all here…"

"I… I just…" I broke off, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the hopelessness of it all. "I just don't know what he wants me for… I don't even know if I can face him… after everything he did. I just… I just can't believe that he's _reformed_!"

"I know, I know," Elliot whispered, planting a soft kiss on my cheek. "But you can do this. We're all here for you."

We found the dojo by the woman's instructions. No sooner had we descended down the street, I noticed it. There was a sign hanging from the gates. The words "Free Spirits Pokemon Dojo" had been stamped on in thick black letters. For a moment, I almost thought we had come to the wrong place.

My heart was in my mouth as we walked down and entered the gates, the rather imposing figure of the dojo staring down at me. I swallowed hard, my hand closing around Elliots. There were lights on in the dojo, and I could hear a commotion from within, alongside the cries of what sounded like… kids. Kids and Pokemon.

I looked back to everyone standing behind me. "Should I knock?"

They all exchanged similar blank glances and shrugged. I sighed in annoyance. They were no help whatsoever.

I took a deep breath, and approached the door. My hands rested on its thick wood, and I almost chickened out, but I pushed myself to keep going. Before I knew what I was doing, the door began to slide open. I couldn't go back now.

As I nervously opened the door of the dojo, my breath catching in my throat, a dark figure suddenly collided with me. Force pushed straight into me, catching me by surprise and making me cry out in fright. A million bizarre, terrifying, horrible scenarios coursed through my head in a mad rush! At first, with a horrible urgent fear, I thought it was my dad! I immediately grasped for my Pokeball, ready at a moment's notice to fight and defend myself. However, a cheery, booming, good-natured voice shot through me, bringing me to attention.

"Sorry, miss! I didn't see you there!"

Cheerful, happy and apologetic. Definitely _not _my father's voice.

I looked up and came face to face with a boy about my age. He was tall, almost as tall as Elliot with thick brown hair cut short and left messy and sparkling eyes. He was also a well-rounded character, with a big belly straining underneath his blue and red striped shirt, thick, chunky arms and legs, and chubby face. However, he had an air of confidence around him, standing tall and positive, showing off his big figure with little care. As strange as it sounded, his fatness _suited _him. He had wide round eyes that had a twinkle in them and what looked like a well-practiced smile adorning his face.

I found myself struggling for something to say. Who _was _this guy? What was a guy like him doing in this dojo? I started to stammer, my confidence dashed even more now. "Umm, I'm… here… to…"

"Here to see Cal?" the boy asked straight away.

I shuddered inexplicably at the casual mention of my father's name. "…Yeah…" I eventually managed to spit out.

"Name?"

I looked at him in shock. "Huh?"

"Oh, it's nothing personal…" he said breezily. "Cal just likes to know who he's seeing before I let anyone in."

"Her name's Sienna. Sienna Volbeda." Jasmine cut in straight away.

The boy's smile slipped off his face to be replaced with a look of shock. His mouth hung open comically before he hastily cried out "Wait here," and then ran back inside, moving with surprising speed and easily edging his protruding belly through the half open door.

"That was weird." Elliot announced as we collectively stared at the empty space where the boy had stood in.

"More than weird…" Scott chipped in.

As conversation started to erupt around me, I maintained my stony silence.

The boy appeared again only a few moments later, looking flushed and out of breath. He composed himself before speaking again. "Hey, sorry to keep you. Cal's in the back waiting on the students to appear … but he said you can go right in."

I made to sweep past the boy, but he stopped me. He was grinning, holding his hand out.

"Hey, my name's Bailey Gray."

"Pleasure," I said icily, before pushing past him and entering the dojo.

I almost stopped dead on in my tracks. The décor and interior of this dojo was almost identical to the dojo at home. The cream wallpaper, the wood floors, the neutral colourings, even right down to the furnishings and wall displays. As weird and off-putting as it was, I didn't want to think on it too much and pushed myself forward, breaking into a run. I heard the others shouting after me, but that just made me run faster. I had to face my father alone.

I went through door after door, banging each and every one in my path. Icy fear and anticipation had me in its cold grips, and my nerves were jangling. A strange plethora of emotions were reverberating through me. Some made me want nothing more than to find my father and scream at him for all I was worth. Some made me want nothing more than to turn around and forget about this whole sorry affair.

I pushed open another door. I emerged in a training room that held no other exit or entrance. There was someone standing at the far corner of the room. Someone dressed in full karate gear, with a black belt tied around their waist, and a shock of flaming red hair.

Dad.

He turned around as soon as he heard the door open. His face paled as soon as his eyes touched on me. He looked a strange mixture of shocked and nervous. He took a few tentative steps forward, while I stood there, frozen to the spot and unable to move or say anything.

"Sienna?"

The sound of his voice made my skin crawl.

"Get away from me," I spat out as soon as he took another step forward. My hand was pointedly poised on my Pokeballs.

"Sienna?" He sounded confused, genuinely hurt. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing!" I bellowed. "I'm getting ready in case you _attack _me!"

"Why would I attack you?"

I blinked. "You're seriously asking me that? After what you _did _back then! After how you captured those Legendary Pokemon? How you turned on your _own daughter_? How you treated me as a kid?"

"Sienna…" my dad's voice was unusually calm. "I'm a changed man…"

"I don't believe it!"

"Neither would I, if I were in your situation…" he admitted with a sigh. "But Sienna… you have to believe me. Seeing that Arceus back then… it changed me… It made me realise what a fool I had been. What a horrible father I was."

"No. I can't believe you!" I burst out, angry that he could even suggest such a thing. "I can't believe you're "reformed"! Why else would you ask me here unless you were going to attack me? Get revenge for what I stopped you from doing!"

"I asked you here because I knew you wanted answers," he stated calmly. "I knew you wouldn't understand completely what was going on back then. And that you probably don't understand it even now. I know you must wonder what happened. Why it happened. Why I did what I did, when you were a child…"

I shuddered.

"And what happened with Nathan. _And _what happened with the Legendary Pokemon. So… ask away. I'll tell you anything you want to know."

I was vaguely aware that Elliot, Jasmine, Nikki and Scott had entered the room behind me. Dad's eyebrows twitched as he looked them all up and down. "Friends of yours?" he tried to ask innocently.

"I'll ask the questions here, thanks." I replied coldly.

"Ask away then…"

I pondered my first question for a while. "Why?" I eventually asked. "You said back then that you joined Nathan because he threatened me and Mum. Was that… was that really true?"

"You heard Nathan back then." Dad said immediately. "He admitted it. He admitted he threatened to kill you." His eyes looked strange, kind of glazed over, but with a resonating sadness. I was completely taken aback. Those eyes that had once held nothing but malice now looked like the eyes of a man truly sorry. A strange feeling bubbled up in me.

"_Is he… is he really telling the truth? Is he really changed? I… I don't know if I can believe it. The idea of him… when all I've ever seen him be is cold and distant, or violent and angry… or even mad and power hungry… the idea of him being a changed man, a _truly _changed man… it… it can't be true!"_

"You know that part is true, Sienna. You know Nathan threatened to kill you and your mother if I didn't join his organization."

"Okay, okay," I said, leaving that one be. As truthful as I knew Dad was being, it was horrendously difficult for me to comprehend. "So why… after you joined up with Nathan and that team—"

"Team Quantum."

I stopped. "I… I beg your pardon?"

"Team Quantum," Dad explained. "That was the team name we operated under during our endeavours."

"Right…" I said slowly, unable to hide the distaste in my words.

"Nathan's choice," He said straight away. "Not mine."

I grunted, not really interested. "So, there's something I don't get. You only joined up to… Team Quantum… because you were threatened with our deaths, right? So why, why did you go… go so _mad _with the power?" my voice was intensifying, my words building up some strange kind of rhythm as I pushed them forth. "Why did you stick around? Why couldn't you have just _left_?"

"Sienna," Dad said slowly. "I never _wanted _to join Team Quantum, you must understand that. But Nathan was... _is _… a cold-hearted and cruel man. He thought nothing of stooping to the lowliest methods to recruit men. When he explained to me what he wanted to do, capture legendary Pokemon, I was… I was terrified. I strongly believed, and still do, that Legendary Pokemon should be left _alone. _Their power is not of our world. But I had no choice, I _must _stress that."

"There's always a choice…" I heard Elliot murmur from near me.

"When I left when you were thirteen… our relationship was not good."

"Don't have to tell me that," I replied haughtily.

"I took that as a good sign, however. As much as I hated the fact you refused to be a trainer, I knew that that reluctance and the way that you and your mother… hated me… I knew that you wouldn't come after me. When I joined up, I realised I had nothing in the world left apart from my involvement with Team Quantum. I had nothing apart from the promise of power. And I have always been obsessed with power. Power, getting strong, being the best… Even if it meant going through legendary Pokemon, I wanted that power. I desired it so much. It was all I _had. _I would stop at nothing to get it. And like you said, I went mad… I turned on you, your mother, the very people I had once tried to _protect…_"

I was starting to piece together things now. "And when you saw Arceus?"

"I was reminded of my own beliefs that Legendary Pokemon are beyond what humans can ever hope to achieve. Seeing that Pokemon's sheer strength… I knew that what Nathan was doing was wrong. I realised what was truly important."

"That's why you protected her," I heard Elliot's voice rise up again.

Dad nodded. "Indeed. I mean… I knew Sienna had been interfering in Team Quantum's business ever since Mt Chimney on our first attempt at Groudon. Nathan… he unfortunately knew as well as soon as he met her again at the Safari Zone. He beat it out of me that Sienna was my daughter. He started to torture me about it… you have to understand, I still did want to stop my daughter from getting hurt. But I knew she still hated me… and I knew that having this power was all I had left. I was… I didn't know what to do."

I had to admit I was starting to understand. Even feel a little sorry for him. But there were still many more questions I wanted answers to.

"Well, what about when I was a kid? The way you forced me to try and become a trainer? When you gave me that Geodude that turned against me? And all that other stuff?"

Dad sighed. "Sienna… Pokemon training is my life. It's all I've ever known. The idea, to me, that _my_ own daughter didn't want to be a trainer… it… it dumbfounded me. I tried to push you into it… but you know me, I've always been a hothead…"

I actually felt mad here. He was passing off his anger and violence and temper as just being a hot-head? I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off again.

"I felt that because you didn't want to be a trainer, that _I _had failed you. So, after that incident with the Geodude, I just gave up. I started to blank you, I admit it. I… I was getting so much abuse from the fellow masters in my dojos. I know that's not an excuse!" he added hastily, seeing my face quickly anger. "My co-workers couldn't believe someone like me could raise a Pokemon-hating daughter. It was humiliating."

"That's your excuse?" I said slowly, anger building.

"No… that's my reason, as horrible as it is. And this is my apology. I'm sorry for everything I did. When you were a kid and what happened a year ago. I really _am _changed, Sienna. That Arceus… seeing him changed me. I realised what I was doing. I realised that I wanted to change. So that's why I came here."

"To open a dojo?" I said sceptically.

"I wouldn't be accepted in Kanto or Hoenn, you know that." He said sadly. "I served my time in prison for the destruction and the recklessness and the conspiracy. Even still, the Kanto and Hoenn Gym Leaders and Elite Four wouldn't hesitate to do something nasty to me if they knew I was _anywhere _in their regions. I can build a new life here in Johto. Goldenrod city is so big… and opportunities to teach kids about Pokemon are few and far between here. I saw an opening. I had to take it. Otherwise, what else could I do? I would never go back to Team Quantum. And it's not like I can go home to you and your mother."

I found I couldn't say anything. After a long period of thinking, and a long time staying silent, I eventually came out with. "I still can't forgive you. I still can't pretend all that stuff didn't happen. But…" I swallowed. What I was about to say felt like such a betrayal, like poison on my tongue, but I forced it out anyway. Tears were clinging to my eyelashes. "I think what you're doing… for these disadvantaged kids… is really great."

"Sienna…" Dad said slowly.

"Umm… excuse the interruption?" A voice came from behind.

We all looked around and saw the boy who said his name was Bailey Gray sidle in the door, effortlessly manoeuvring his big belly in the process.

"What is it, Bailey?"

"Your next class is here. The eleven year olds. Should I let them in?"

"Go ahead," Dad rose to his feet. His eyes were touching on me again. "I know you don't trust me. I know you don't even _believe _me. But I'm different, Sienna. I've changed. I really have. I can't get back your childhood. I doubt I can ever make it up to you. But I _can _help these kids. These kids who want to be trainers but for whatever reason can't afford it or go after it. I can give these kids a fighting chance. They don't want to be tied down to their old lives… they want to be break away and be free. Be free spirits, you know?"

I found I could say nothing.

"Well, why don't you come and see the work we're doing?" Dad invited, walking towards the door. "I think you would like to see it…"

"I'll… I'll come out in a minute," I said, my voice starting to choke.

The others looked at me inquiringly, but I reiterated firmly that I would be out in a minute. They all shuffled out, leaving me alone. I let out a long, shaky breath, trying to get a hold on my emotions. They were bubbling like a furious stream, threatening to burst its banks. My hands clenched into fists, my nails biting hard into the soft skin of my palm. I bit my lip furiously, feeling the tears rise up. I couldn't believe it. My chest was starting to hurt, and I could feel myself slowly losing what little control of my emotions I had. I couldn't believe what Dad had just told me. He treated me the way he did as a child because he was _ashamed_? Ashamed that for a man whose life was simply Pokemon, his daughter wouldn't become a trainer?

And what about his life with Team Quantum, or whatever the hell its name was. I could believe Nathan would resort to killing people's families as a blackmail method. But I couldn't believe that Dad would join up to save us. He said it himself. He already hated me for not being a trainer. Why not just let us die?

And what about his claims that he thought Legendary Pokemon should be left alone? That was a lie if ever I saw one! I mean, sure, even I can't deny that seeing the Arceus had a noticeable effect on him. But if he believed so strongly that Legendaries should be left alone, why did he join a group whose sole _purpose _was to capture Legendary Pokemon?

And all that stuff about him going mad for the power because that was all he had left in the world? I didn't believe it. I _couldn't _believe it.

But still… I remembered the look in his eyes when he told me. The softness of his normally harsh, grating voice.

I threw my head back and let out an anguished wail, before finally bursting into tears. Everything I had ever believed about my dad… everything that I _needed _to believe... had just shattered into a million pieces, like the pieces of a broken mirror reflecting back my sadness, and the ultimate truth… the ultimate, unbelievable truth.

I couldn't deny it anymore. Everything I needed to believe to keep me sane and keep me grounded had simply fallen away around me, leaving me open and vulnerable and completely, completely crushed.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Just a quick author's note cos I'm not on my own computer. My internet got shut off but I should be able to update as often as I can.**

**Thanks to my reviewers: Aeroga, TwewyReaperGirl, WarriorSwift, Something dictionary related, ArchXDeath, May and Dawn are the best, Chaison, Manser77, Padfoot Arcanine and Zoeten. All the reviews are so appreciated, they really make my day :)**

**Please read and review :) I hope you enjoy**


	10. Revelations

It took me a long time to leave that tiny room. I don't even know how long I stayed in there for. Even after I was eventually all cried out, I didn't want to leave until after I was sure it wouldn't be obvious that I _had _been crying. When I eventually plucked up the courage to sidle out, I was shocked to find that Elliot, Jasmine, Nikki and Scott weren't standing outside waiting for me. Instead, the fat boy from earlier was standing outside, looking concerned and holding a box of tissues.

"_Busted_." I thought in sheer embarrassment.

I seriously debated about rushing straight back into the room I had just come out from, but Bailey suddenly stepped forward. He pushed the box of tissues towards me. "Uhh… I thought you might need these…"

I blinked, trying to contain my embarrassment. "Oh… thank you…" I murmured, taking them.

I dabbed at my sore eyes, wiping off the final tears and feeling rather foolish. Bailey was good enough to look away as I did so, waiting until I was finished before he spoke again.

"Sienna… I don't mean to be rude or anything…" he began slowly. "But Cal told me about what happened… you know… back _then_."

I blinked. Dad had_ told_ this guy about what had happened back then? Bailey _knew _about Dad's involvement with that Team Quantum? He knew about their attempts to capture Legendary Pokemon? I couldn't believe it. Why on earth would Dad tell this _kid _that just so happens to attend the dojo all that private information? Had he told _all _the kids? Were they all aware of the reasons behind Dad's actions even before _I _was? I couldn't believe it. I shot Bailey an icy stare, and he seemed to understand what I was trying to communicate.

"I know it's none of my business," Bailey continued blushing furiously. "And I can totally understand why you would be so angry with him for what he did… but if it's any consolation, your dad's been really good to me and my brothers. He's given me chances to get Pokemon and stuff when otherwise I wouldn't be able to. _Ever_. And for what it's worth, I think he really is sorry for everything he did…"

I wanted to shout at Bailey, yell at him for sticking his nose in things that didn't concern him. The thought of my father telling this boy intimate details about my life sickened me right to the pits of my stomach. I could feel the anger bubbling right at the bottom of my stomach and my hands began to shake slightly.

But I said nothing. Somehow what Bailey had said had resonated with me, even through my anger. Dad really had seemed to do good for these kids. He even, as unbelievable as it sounds, seemed _sorry_. He seemed _genuine_. I remembered the look in my father's eyes as he answered my questions. He looked sad, the mistakes of his life eerily and visibly reflected in them. That wasn't the look of a lying man…

He seemed genuine. He seemed a changed man. For real. I could see it.

So why the hell couldn't I accept it?

I tore straight past Bailey, pushing right past him, not even caring as he shouted behind me. I powered through doors, not even knowing where I was going. I pushed through corridor after corridor, door after door, trying to banish any and all thoughts from my head until eventually, I appeared in a very familiar kind of room. A training room.

There were about ten kids there, sitting on their knees in two perfect lines, all with a different Pokemon at their side. I wasn't surprised to see they were all of the Rock, Ground, Fighting and Steel varieties. I saw an Aron, a Makuhita, a Geodude, a Magnemite, a Diglett, a Mankey and a Machop, alongside a few others I wasn't too sure of. And there, right in the middle, was my Dad. He was in full lecture mode; the children were hanging on to his every word. Even the Pokemon were quiet.

"When you and your Pokemon fight, you fight as one." I recognised this infamous speech as he paced up and down. I found it stirred up a lot of memories. Memories of hanging outside the training room doors in the dojo in Pallet Town, secretly watching my father and his training classes hard at work. Memories of being forced to endure this lecture every time Dad attempted me to get into training. "Therefore, whatever pain your Pokemon sustains—"

My mouth opened of its own accord. "Also becomes your pain to bear…" I finished, almost automatically.

The noise of my voice in the room startled both my father and the kids and they all twisted around to look at me. I blushed, suddenly feeling incredibly foolish. "_Why did I just do that_?" I cringed internally.

Dad looked the most surprised out of anyone. The kids were just staring at me, their faces twisted in confusion. Probably wondering who this strange girl was, and what she was doing interrupting their class.

"Sienna?" Dad asked me slowly.

"W…well," I flustered. "You… you _did_ drum it into me as a kid… um… Dad."

The kids started murmuring excitedly to themselves, and then one of the only two girls in the class stood up. "You're Master Cal's daughter?" she asked, inquisitively cocking her head to one side like a Growlithe.

I swallowed nervously at the question. "Umm… yeah. I guess I am."

"Wow!" she cried out eagerly, the Aron at her side giving a little start at the falsetto pitch of her voice. "You must be really strong then! Just like Master Cal, right?"

I mumbled something incoherently. This kid couldn't be any more than ten years old. Still naïve and innocent about the complicated world of Pokemon. As I struggled for something to say, my Dad called for the kids to take a five minute break. All thoughts of seeing their Master's daughter immediately fled their minds and they started yelling and chatting excitedly, calling for their friends and Pokemon to follow. I breathed out in relief as they started to disappear out the door.

My father was chuckling as the kids charged out. "Don't mind Ellie. She's got this thing about women trainers at the moment." Seeing my confused face, he expanded. "She's fed up of men trainers." He stated simply. "She doesn't like how men trainers get farther in Pokemon training than women do. She's out to prove that women can be just as good as men when it comes to Pokemon training. Heh, I think we've got a future feminist on our hands."

I ignored that, and instead looked around the deserted dojo. "Where are my friends?" was the only thing I could think of to say.

"Outside. They're with the other kids. Showing off their Pokemon I think."

I grunted. I didn't make to leave though. However, Dad interpreted my reluctance to move as something else entirely.

"Sienna…" Dad ventured slowly. For some reason, every word that then subsequently spilled out of his mouth increased my anger. "Are you doing okay? You know, after I told you what really happened. Do you believe that I'm—?"

I snapped.

"I'm trying!" I spat at once. "I am _trying _to understand what's going on here! But you have to understand that it's not that easy for me! I…" my voice started to choke. "I can _tell _you're different. I knew that when I saw you freak out when Arceus appeared. I knew that when I threw myself in front of that damn Samurott! But it's just— it's just… _you_! I've only ever known you as that man who hated me and belittled me and was violent to me! I've never known you as that kind man Bailey, these little kids and all the goddamn people in this city know you as! So please! You can't expect me to come around straight away!" I broke off, my voice catching. "Just… just give me a little time, okay?"

I didn't give him time to reply. Instead, I barged outside.

As I stepped into the harsh sunlight of the afternoon, the first thing that came to my attention was the presence of a giant Venusaur plodding around, a couple of eager boys and girls clinging to the massive flower atop its back.

I almost fell over in my fright. "What the hell is _that_?"

Elliot, Nikki, Jasmine and Scott were standing nearby. Nikki and Jasmine were talking to some young children, there were a few kids practically hanging _off _Scott (who was doing a spectacular job of pretending they didn't exist), and Elliot was stroking the giant Venusaur as if it was a treasured pet. Upon hearing my outburst, he turned to me, a grin beaming across his face. "Sienna! This is Vino!"

"Vino!" I said in horror, looking at the thing slowly trudging up and down the path, kids hanging on to it happily. "Who the hell is Vino?"

"My… my Venusaur." Elliot looked a little crushed.

I blinked, looking from the Venusaur to Elliot. "Since when did you have a Venusaur?"

"Think about it, Sienna." Scott's voice cut in from nearby. "Elliot started from Pallet Town. He likes Grass type Pokemon. What would be his logical starter?"

I stood there dumbfounded for a few moments. "You never told me you had a Venusaur. I always thought that Jet… you know… was your starter." I finished lamely.

"Well, no. Jet and I have been together for almost as long as Vino and I have, though. But I honestly didn't think it needed to be said," Elliot said with a shrug. "I did think it would be obvious. People don't _start _with Eevees anymore, you know."

"But you never _mentioned _him before! I never saw him either!" I protested. It was true! In the entire two years that I had known Elliot, he had never _once _mentioned Pokemon outside of his main team of six; Umbreon, Tropius, Cacturne, Carnivine, Mightyena and Roserade.

"I gave him to Professor Oak when he evolved into a Venusaur and I finished the Sinnoh Gym Circuit. I had just caught Cacturne and couldn't take him with me, unless I gave in another Pokemon. And Vino was just that strong that I won most battles quite easily with him. I wanted a bit more of a challenge, so I left Vino with Oak and continued on. He's been quite happy with the old Professor, and Oak got a chance to do some research!"

"So… why bring him now?" I found myself asking, tentatively putting a hand on the massive Venusaur. He barely even acknowledged I was touching him. I breathed in the scent wafting down from the massive flower on the Pokemon's back. It smelled nice, sweet, flowery and summery.

"I thought I may need some backup." He said with a smile. "I trust Vino more than any other member of my team."

The Venusaur roared in appreciation at his trainer's comment. I found myself shaking my head. Of course it had been obvious Elliot would have chosen Bulbasaur as his starter. I guess I had just assumed that because he always seemed to favour his Umbreon that _he _had been Elliot's first Pokemon. I realised how silly _that _idea had been. Elliot was right. People didn't start with Eevees anymore unless they had good connections or were insanely rich. Heck, people didn't even _own _Eevees unless they had good connections or were insanely rich. So how on earth did Elliot end up with one…?

I turned my attention back to the giant Venusaur. I'd never seen one in person before, so I had no idea if this was a normal size for the Pokemon. It just seemed massive to me. It could fit at least four or five kids on its back at a time.

"The kids seem to like him," I commented easily. "Though… I'm surprised he's not thrown them _off _by now. The kids are quite… excitable after all."

"He's just a big dope, aren't you Vino?" Elliot grinned.

Vino just yawned. He seemed totally oblivious to the kids yelling and screaming around him. I stifled a giggle. "Wow…" was all I could say.

"Don't let him fool ya though," Elliot grinned. "He may be a big softy and a bit on the slow side, but he could cut you in half with one razor leaf attack."

The kids chose the wrong moment to listen in to our conversation. At the mere mention of being cut in half b a Pokemon's attack, the kids immediately stopped, looking horrified. They turned their terrified faces first to Elliot and then shot frightened looks at the dopey Venusaur they were riding.

"Uhh…" was all Elliot could come out with before the kids took off like a Zubat out of hell.

I had to laugh as the kids stampeded off like a herd of Tauros into the safety of the dojo. "You have no skill with kids, Elliot."

Elliot had a disappointed look on his face at that. "I know…" he said with a sigh.

"You're hopeless," I said, tousling his hair and giving him a quick kiss. But no sooner had my lips touched his that I weakened again, and I found myself clinging on to him, desperate for some sort of reassurance.

"How was it with your dad?" he murmured softly, knowing immediately what I was getting at.

"Hard." I replied with difficulty. "He… he… he really _is _different, Elliot. I can see it. I can see that's he… reformed like Officer Jenny had said. But I just… I can't believe it! Even though it's right in front of me and it's so obvious, I just… It's like I _need _him to be what I've always known him as."

"It's understandable," Elliot murmured softly into my ear, his breath tickling me as he spoke. "Things will work out okay in the end. You just gotta give it a chance and a little time okay?"

I couldn't say anything.

"Okay?" Elliot pressed me.

"… okay…" I murmured back.

"That's my girl." Elliot kissed the top of my head and gave me a tight squeeze. "Now, come on. Shall we head back? I think I need to go and do some damage control before those kids tell your Dad I threatened to cut them in half with my Venusaur."

I couldn't help but laugh. "You're a fool, Elliot Wood," I called after him happily as he disappeared back into the dojo after the kids. I waited until after he was gone before I let my hands fall to my sides and exhale deeply. "But not a big of a fool as me…"

* * *

><p>The boy called Bailey Gray cooked us dinner that night. It turned out that he frequently stayed at the dojo with Dad, often staying to help out with Pokemon and take care of various chores that needed doing. Dad paid him for this work. He started explaining, whilst the boy was in the kitchen, that Bailey was unable to leave home to be a Pokemon trainer due to the fact his father had four other kids to support. Bailey, being the eldest, and whose mother had died years earlier, was left to provide additional income. So, he and Dad had worked out a deal. Dad would give Bailey free room and board in exchange for help with the dojo and carrying out work. He would also give Bailey a small wage packet which Bailey would send back to his family.<p>

I had no idea that poverty was that big a deal in big cities. Living in Pallet Town, I was under the impression everyone lived comfortably and most people had chances to get Pokemon of their own. That wasn't the case in Goldenrod. Many families were poor, and not many kids (unless they won a scholarship to a prestigious Pokemon school) simply couldn't afford to become trainers. They had no helpful Professor offering to give Pokemon free in exchange for research data either…

I had to admit, I was dreading dinner. The idea of me, my friends and boyfriend sitting at the same table as Dad and that Bailey boy terrified me. It would be so awkward! I foretold a terrible atmosphere alongside disgusting food.

However, I was proved to be pleasantly surprised. The food Bailey served up was actually really delicious! He didn't make anything fancy, a simple home-cooked lasagne with a fresh garden salad, a homemade coleslaw and hunks of garlic bread. It wasn't at all like a formal sit down meal. Bailey plonked the steaming dishes of lasagne, the bowls of salad and coleslaw and the garlic bread on the table and simply told us to help ourselves.

As my father began dishing out, I found myself catching Jasmine and Nikki's eyes across the table. Nikki looked white-faced and terrified. Jasmine looked angry, a thin frown twitching at the side of her face. I couldn't imagine how awkward this was. Sitting down for a meal with the man that two years ago had attempted to take over the world by capturing Legendary Pokemon! The idea was so surreal and ridiculous that I had to bite back a giggle. Of course, I had told Jasmine and Nikki that I genuinely believed, as difficult and horrible it was for me to grasp it, that Dad was a changed man, but that still didn't make what happened two years ago just magically disappear.

It was then that I was grateful for Bailey. He was a perpetually cheerful soul, sitting down next to Jasmine and chatting away in a comforting, booming voice like he'd known us all for years. He engaged everyone, even managing to get Scott _and _Dad to speak. As I watched conversation tentatively come along, I put a piece of lasagne to my mouth.

I was shocked. It was delicious. In my surprise, I looked across to Bailey. "This is really good." I said in astonishment. "It tastes like restaurant quality food."

A blush tinged Bailey's already cheery red cheeks. "Well, thanks."

"How do you make it like this?" I asked, genuinely amazed.

"It's… well, I dunno. It's just how my mum used to make it." He said with an airy shrug. He spoke a lot more casually and cheerfully about his dead mother than I expected him to. He stated things so easily it was like she was still living. "I guess I ate so much of it that I just learned the recipe from taste alone! Not that I care anyway; mum always used to say "never trust a skinny chef"! I guess she was right, huh?" he grinned, patting his own voluptuous belly.

From next to him on the table, Jasmine choked on a shred of lettuce. She had taken only the tiniest square of lasagne with a helping of salad and had refused the coleslaw and garlic bread claiming it was "laden with fat".

"Oh gee, Jasmine. You're hurting my feelings," Bailey grinned across at Jasmine who was slicing up her food into tiny pieces. Compared to the massive portions everyone else along the table had, Jasmine's portion looked practically anorexic. "Do you not like it?"

"Nothing against you. I'm just watching what I eat." She replied deftly.

"Why? There's nothing on you!" he protested in a good-natured manner.

Bailey was right. Jasmine had one of those figures that was as close to perfect as any girl could get. A perfect hourglass shape. Well rounded, perky boobs, cinching into a skinny waist and then fleshing out into perfectly proportioned hips and legs. She wasn't conventionally skinny, but neither was she plump, not at all. She was a beautiful slim shape. Granted not skinny and willowy, but a glorious womanly shape. I found myself looking down at my tiny boobs resting on a small Buddha belly and legs that went curvy in the wrong places and let out a deep sigh. It wasn't fair…

"And I intend to keep it that way." She replied primly. "I don't want to be fat."

I almost dropped my fork. A deep cringe came over me. I wholly expected Bailey to be offended at the obvious gripe, but he took it easily in his stride. "There's nothing wrong with being fat, you know? At least I've got a comfy seat wherever I go!"

This time it was my turn to choke.

"Bailey." My dad's voice cut through me and everyone around the table stopped. "Maybe now isn't the best time?"

I realised this was my dad doing his best attempt to delicately diffuse a situation and I quickly stepped in, engaging Jasmine in a conversation about something meaningless.

Once dinner was finished, it was starting to get dark. My father cast an eye towards the darkening skies and then turned his attention to me. "It's late," he announced.

"I can tell that." I said, without really meaning to.

He didn't bite back, surprisingly. "Do you have some place to stay?"

"We'll stay at the Pokemon Centre." Jasmine cut in immediately.

My dad simply stared. "You could all stay here if you want to save money."

"Actually, staying at Pokemon Centres is free so long as you present a trainer license." I pointed out.

"Oh." Dad said slowly. "W…well. You can sill stay if you want."

I cast a glance back at the others. "I… I think it would be a better idea if we stayed at the Pokemon Centre tonight."

Dad nodded, but he still looked a little disappointed. "I understand. But… how long are you going to be here for?"

"Uh…" I faltered. "Well, I only took two weeks off from school… It's already almost been a week. I can't really stick around too long."

"Come over tomorrow," Dad told me. "I'd like to… speak with you a little more about some things. And I think you'd like to see more of the work I'm doing."

I looked back at the others. They all returned me similar blank looks. Eventually Elliot spoke up. "Your decision,"

I turned back to Dad. He was looking hopeful. What on earth could he still want from me? I was already feeling pretty good about the fact I had gotten through one day without any _major_ upsets. It had been a day of complete revelations, some confusing, some unbelievable and some just downright amazing. I was exhausted, mentally and physically crippled and quite frankly looking forward to simply taking a rest. Could I really handle putting myself through even more torture?

My mouth opened and I was speaking before I could even contemplate what I was doing. "Yeah. Fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hey, well here's another chapter! :) **

**You know the strangest thing happened to me last night. One of my friends tagged a friend of their's in a facebook post. What was the name of their friend? Senna Volbeda. Like Sienna Volbeda, without the "i". I swear on my life this is true! I almost died!**

**Thanks to my regular reviewers; Sniper Mudkip, TwewyReaperGirl, WarriorSwift, Zoeten, WOWFan123, May and Dawn are the best, I have a dictionary here, Aeroga (I actually named Bailey after a dog AND the Irish cream liqueur I'm all too fond of), WildCroconaw, Chaison and Manser77. I actually can't believe how many reviews I've gotten. Almost ninety for a nine chapter story! :O**

**Things to look out for in the coming chapters!**

**Cal issues Sienna a challenge...**

**Sienna takes on Whitney of Goldenrod Gym!**

**Lance and Elliot get drunk and have a Monty Python moment...**

**That's all for this chapter! Thank you! Please read and review!**


	11. The Dojo Master's Challenge

I barely slept a wink that night. Jasmine and Nikki, even after staying up for hours talking about the day's events fell asleep quickly and easily, which I resented. Jasmine, as was to be expected was completely antagonistic about the whole thing. She was adamant that Dad hadn't changed. That it was completely impossible. That she couldn't believe that she just sat for a casual dinner with someone who had not so long ago tried to take over the world.

Nikki said nothing, but her silence, as always, obviously proved she was feeling the same way.

It was difficult for me to get across my feelings on the matter. Trying to explain to Jasmine and Nikki what I was feeling was as difficult as getting blood from a stone. I somehow managed to make the point that I knew my dad was a changed man, as much as I hated to admit it. But explaining _why _I was having difficulty accepting this _beyond _simply what he had done at Mt Chimney and what he'd done to me as a child was a lot harder.

"You see… I kind of _knew _he was changing… I knew as soon as he saw that Arceus. I didn't _want _to know, but something still told me that he had… It… it was so strange for me. I know he's genuinely sorry… I know he… he only joined up to protect me, and that he only threw himself into Team Quantum's affairs because I already hated him and he didn't have anything else in his life. But… but it's weird… even though I know he's sorry and that he's a better man now… it's like I _need _him to be that man. That horrible, evil, power-hungry, abusive man. Otherwise I don't really know what to do with myself…"

"I can't trust him." Jasmine had announced. "I can't. I just can't. I can't trust _anyone _who attempted to capture Legendary Pokemon, who was so ruthless to his own _daughter_, who tried to _kill _innocent people! I'm shocked that you're even _entertaining _the thought."

I had rolled over in my bed at this point, simply wanting to bury my head in the pillow and scream into it. "I'm not entertaining the thought of _trusting_ him. He gave me the answers I wanted… and yeah, they're not what I expected… in fact, I think I could probably have dealt with the thought of my dad wanting revenge or… going on another mad spree _better _than this…"

Jasmine had let out a growl. "I still won't believe it. I say the better we leave your crazy father behind, the better. He's obviously not right in the head."

I had sighed wearily. "I don't know…"

"I do." Jasmine's voice was firm, unquestioning. "You came here, you got answers. Granted they might not be what you want, but if that's all he can come up with, then fine. Just get out, Sienna. While you still can."

I didn't know what to say, so I simply murmured something about wanting to get to sleep. It seemed to satisfy Jasmine enough to shut her up, and within a few minutes I heard both of them breathing heavily and slowly, obviously asleep. However, _I_ couldn't sleep that easily. Thoughts of my father, his revelation and the horrible fact that I believed him when he said he was a changed man twisted around my head like a sea of snakes. I tossed and turned into the early hours of the morning until sleep finally took me for a welcome couple of hours.

We headed off to the dojo the following morning. I could tell everyone was a little reluctant to go. Heck, _I _was a little reluctant to go. Who knew what this next visit could drudge up?

We were greeted at the dojo gate by a perpetually cheerful Bailey. There were two little boys, about the ages of nine and ten dressed in regulation school uniforms (not Pokemon trainer's school, I noticed) hanging on his every word as he directed other children in to the dojo. These other children were dressed in white martial arts jackets with various colours of belts tied tightly around their waists.

As we approached, Bailey said something to the two boys by his side and they took off almost immediately, waving goodbye as they left. Bailey sent a cheery grin our way as we came closer.

"Sorry about that, those were my brothers," he said apologetically.

"Your brothers?" I said slowly. A nugget of information returned to me, and I remembered from the previous night the fact that he had four other siblings.

"Yeah." He grinned. "They always come to see me before work as they're on their way to school. I tell them not to, but they never listen…"

"That's kinda sweet…" I said with a half-smile.

"Here to see Cal?" Bailey asked immediately after.

"How'd you guess?" I said, with a cheap, fake laugh.

He simply shrugged off the obvious malice. "He's in taking a class. But he said you could just go right ahead."

"Uhh…" the thought of interrupting a class worried me. What kind of memories would being in one of those familiar classes stir up? Despite my reservations, I was eager to just get this whole thing over and done with. "Sure."

We entered the dojo, and easily found the room Bailey had been referring to. Inside we found a class of about six kids around ten and eleven sitting on mats. A collection of Pokeballs were lined up in front of the kids, each kid with one Pokeball in front of them. Dad was standing in front of the line of Pokeballs, talking. Even though I didn't want to, I couldn't help but listen in.

"Today, you will receive your partner. A special Pokemon bred in this very dojo, bred from my own Pokemon. Many of you come from families that for whatever reason, cannot allow you to follow your dreams. But here, you can. Here, you will get your first Pokemon and begin your journey together. But first, a word of warning. Pokemon are real, living beings, just like you and I. If you treat your Pokemon wrongly, they will treat you that way in return. Your Pokemon aren't just Pokemon… they're our precious friends. Friends that are going to be with us, no matter what we do or what mistakes we make in our lives. And those of us lucky enough to learn their company should be eternally grateful for every second we have with them."

His words struck a chord with me. I understood. I understood what he had meant. His words twisted around my brain, echoing like a song you couldn't get out of your head.

He was giving Pokemon to children who couldn't afford to become trainers under their own actions. These weren't the actions of an evil man. No self-respecting criminal would go out of their way to teach poor kids the basics of being trainers, and going through all the stresses and problems of breeding Pokemon to just give them away for free. The realisation hit me like a punch in the stomach. There was no way that he was an evil man. He _wasn't _an evil man anymore!

I watched as the ten year olds all took their first Pokemon. The look of joys on their faces as they bartered and swapped and decided on their starters made a strange, nostalgic feeling bubble up in me. And then there was the look on my father's face. A kind of warm, soft pride as he watched over the children. The kind of look I so ardently desired when I was a kid. The kind of look I always yearned for Dad to pass my way. In fact, the kind of look I still wish he would give me.

He looked up, and noticed us for the first time. "Sienna?" he sounded surprised, but pleasantly so.

"Hey, Dad." The easiness of it slipping out shocked me and I began to stammer, unable to say anything else.

But before Dad could open his mouth, the kids quickly realised who I was.

"You're Master Cal's daughter?" one of the kids shouted and I sighed as déjà vu struck. I didn't want a repeat of last time…

"Yes," I said, quite firmly.

"Wow!" the kid cried. "You must be super strong! Hey, Master Cal? You should battle your daughter!"

The kid's words shocked me, but no sooner had they been said, the other kids started shouting eagerly.

"Yeah! Battle her!"

"Do it! We wanna see you battle!"

"Battle her, Master Cal!"

"No, kids, kids, please…" I heard Bailey interrupting, but they didn't even pay him a hint of notice.

However, with one word, Dad silenced them. "Quiet." He said in a low voice , and the kids instantly became silent. He then looked across at me. "Well, what do you say, Sienna? A battle. You and me? I think we're due a fair fight, don't you think?"

I immediately stopped, my heart leaping to my mouth. I heard the blood rushing through my ears and I felt faint. A battle? With him? No, I couldn't handle that! Not even with the knowledge he was reformed and changed. I couldn't wipe away the memories of the battles he made me participate in as a child. Or the horrifying memories I had of his brutish Pokemon that _still _scared me to this day. And especially the memories of the sheer power he had displayed at Mt Chimney back then.

He must have seen me waver, as he strode forward a few paces. "Okay, then how about this? You gather four Johto Gym badges. Get used to the idea of us battling, gain some experience, and get back into the swing of fighting hard battles. Then come back. Challenge me then."

It took me a long time to reply. A plethora of emotions was running through my head and I didn't know what to think, or do. I couldn't just go jaunting off around this whole region searching for gym badges; I had a life at home! I had school! I had Mum! I had Elliot and the girls, and Scott too! I couldn't ask them to put up with me taking off to explore the region just because I wanted to battle my father! Going after gym badges could take weeks! Months even! Did I really want to do this?

I looked up into my father's eyes. Yes, all that stuff was true. But this was a chance here. I knew that if I said no and gave up, went back home to Pallet Town, I would never reconcile with him. While part of me wanted to go home and never see him again, a small part of my conscious, right at the back of my brain was telling me to take this chance. Because it would never come again.

"Four Johto League Gym badges?" I double-checked.

Dad nodded. "Four. Then a battle. Right here, at the dojo. Do we have a deal?"

He reached out his hand. I stared at his hand, scarred and rough with the pains of previous battles. Then somehow, my own hand reached up around its own accord, curled around his and gave it a brief, but firm shake. "Deal."

I heard a groan from behind me. I couldn't tell who the voice belonged to. I didn't want to turn around and find out.

"Excellent," Dad said with a smile. Then his face softened, and he murmured something for only me to hear. "Thank you, Sienna."

* * *

><p>My school was sympathetic to my taking time off, assuring me that as I was doing a two year course, one year of which I had already completed, it would be easy enough for me to simply do the second year again once I returned. Of course, if I returned home early for whatever reason, and I could still feasibly catch up, I could simply resume my place. I was sincerely hoping for that option.<p>

Elliot, Jasmine, Nikki and Scott obviously had their reservations. _Some_ of them voiced those reservations much louder. Despite their initial reluctance, after a great deal of begging on my part, the four of them decided to stick with me around Johto until I got the four Gym Badges I needed.

Dad had a class, so we had no choice but to leave as he worked with some of the younger kids. The class only lasted an hour, so once it was getting ready to conclude, I started to get inexplicably nervous. I started to pace up and down corridors, dashing into rooms here and there to avoid being seen by excited kids or any of my friends. For some reason, at that moment, I didn't want anyone to see me. I needed to be alone.

"Sienna?"

I jumped. I had literally put one foot out of one of the doors when a voice caught my attention. I turned around and saw my father, standing in a nearby door's alcove.

As my heart eventually returned to a normal pace, I let out a long sigh of relief. "Yeah…?" I asked slowly.

"Come in here for a second,"

At first I hesitated, but I followed him obediently through into the room, and he closed the door behind me. I looked around the unremarkable room for a few seconds, not really sure what to say. "What is it…?" I eventually croaked out.

"I want to thank you for giving me a chance. And—"

"You already thanked me," I said immediately.

Dad smiled. "There's a few other things. Obviously, the most important one is to thank you for what you did in 2009. You threw yourself in front of that Samurott for me. I… I want to thank you. You almost died for me…"

"I didn't get away with nothing though…"

I showed him the scar on my arm from the Arceus's blast. It was only slight, the kind of scar you weren't even aware was there until it was pointed out. "And these too…" I pulled up the t-shirt I was wearing, showing off three identical serrated scars criss-crossing my torso. My father gasped, his face dropping. I let my t-shirt fall back over my stomach, feeling horrible. I hated those scars. I hated how ugly they made me feel. I even hated them when Elliot kissed them, telling me they were beautiful, and a part of me just as much as anything else was. I hated that they were a physical manifestation of the horrors I had to endure. Horrors that would never fade.

"Oh, Sienna." Dad said softly.

He turned away for a few seconds, delving within a desk and eventually came away with a very badly wrapped parcel. It was tiny, barely fitting in the palm of his hand. He thrust it towards me clumsily whilst I just stared at it. "What is it?"

"Birthday present." He stammered uncertainly.

"You remembered my birthday?" I asked slowly.

"You're my daughter, aren't you?" He stated gruffly. "Open it."

"What it is?"

"Open it!" he said, stuffing in my hands.

"Is it a car?" I joked, turning the tiny parcel over in my hands.

Dad returned me a blank stare while I laughed nervously. Obviously I wasn't endowed with the talents of a stand up comedian. I edged the parcel open slowly, and a tiny beaded bracelet came tumbling out into my hand. I let out a low gasp. It was absolutely beautiful. The beads were medium in size, and a stunning ruby red in colour that sparkled like a handful of precious gems whenever they caught light. Tiny flowers in a rainbow of colours had been dotted and peppered across the beads. "Wow…" I breathed out slowly.

"Red _is _your favourite, isn't it?" Dad asked me quickly.

"Of course!" I cried out. "It's beautiful, thank you!"

"It's not much, considering… but I hope you like it."

"I love it," I said at once. Immediately I fiddled with the clasp and slipped the red beaded bracelet around my wrist. I held it out, admiring the red on my pale skin and smiled. I caught Dad's eye and with all sincerity, managed to say "Thank you, Dad. I really love it."

* * *

><p>We were soon packed and ready to go. We stepped out into the hall, our bags shouldered. We were destined for the closest Gym, the one right slap bang in the centre of Goldenrod. I didn't want to prolong going around Johto, so I had decided to go for the closest Gyms, regardless of when they took place in the circuit, how difficult they were and what type of Pokemon they trained. But just as we were getting ready to leave, a voice called me back.<p>

"Sienna?"

I had expected Dad to be the one calling me back again, but instead it was Bailey Gray. He was standing at the doorway alongside Dad. I cast confused looks to everyone else. They all looked just as blank as I did. "Yeah? What is it Bailey?"

He was blushing, his round cheeks flushed painfully red. "I was wondering if I could ask you something…"

"Shoot."

He began to stammer, stumbling over his words, making no comprehensible sense whatsoever. It was almost quite painful to listen to and watch. Dad sighed haughtily at him as he faltered. "Spit it out, Bailey." He eventually snapped.

"I… I want to come with you guys to collect badges!" he suddenly burst out. "I'm not a strong trainer yet, not like you guys at all, but I have four Pokemon! I really want to get out there and be a_ real_ trainer!"

I swallowed hard. I remembered that Bailey had told me about his family, how his father depended on the wages that Bailey earned to support them. I found myself in a moral dilemma. If Bailey had to support his family, was it really okay for him to go gallivanting off around the region looking for gym badges if it meant his family would suffer? "Is… is it okay with your family?" I had to ask.

He nodded. Fiercely, I might add. "Dad said to go for it. He said it wasn't fair that I should be trapped here not doing what I want. He says it's not fair for him to be constantly relying on an eighteen year old."

I murmured in agreement.

Bailey was smiling again. "Besides… I can earn money on the road too and send it home. I can still support them."

I nodded, satisfied with his answers. I found mysel feeling really quite touched by his words. He was still thinking about his family. He was still going to support them. He would sacrifice the money he won while training to support his family, give up the money he would need for food, necessities, travel and Pokemon supplies for his family. I admired that more than I cared to admit. I turned back to look at the four other people standing around me. It was just as much their decision as it was mine. They had agreed to accompany me after all. "What do you guys think?"

"I don't see a problem," Elliot pointed out with a smile.

"Me neither," Nikki said.

"I guess not…" Jasmine said with a shrug.

Scott merely grunted.

I smiled across at Bailey who looked delighted. "Looks like your part of the team, Bailey."

The grin practically spread from ear to ear. His eyes welled with what looked suspiciously like tears, and he started to gush. "Thank you! Thank you! I really mean it! I won't let you down, I promise!"

From behind me, Jasmine let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like "pathetic."

As Bailey came over to join us on our side, I caught my father's gaze once again. He was smiling as he stepped forward. "Good luck, Sienna. Although I doubt you'll need it. I look forward to our battle."

"Yeah." I found myself saying. "I look forward to it too."

And with that final truth expelled, we were on the road again.

The first gym we were going to challenge was only a mere ten minutes walk away. I would be battling a woman called Whitney, something of a local hero in this city. A kind of role model for the young kids. She used a type of Pokemon I had never expected a Gym Leader to use. She used the Normal types. They were often seen as the weakest, most worthless types of them all. But I knew that a Gym Leader would have some extra twists and tricks up her sleeve. I mean, I had only ever battled two Gym Leaders in my life: Misty from Cerulean City in Kanto, and Wallace from Sootopolis City in Hoenn. I considered them both personal friends now, but that didn't take away how difficult they had been to win against. And it had been a long time since I had fought a Gym Battle. And I'd never fought a Gym Leader that didn't use Water Pokemon as their speciality…

But I couldn't back out. This was something I had to do.

And come hell or high water, I was going to do it.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hey guys! Sorry I'm so late! I'm back at university now so updates will be quite sporadic henceforth until Christmas!**

**But on the plus side, Free Spirits gets back into the swing of things now. **

**I got a mammoth 15 reviews for the previous chapter! I couldn't believe it! Thank you all!**

**WarriorSwift, eeveelutionluvr, Sniper Mudkip, TwewyReaperGirl, Manser77, WOWFan123, Aeroga, WildCroconaw, Zoeten, chaison, May and Dawn are the best, ArchXDeath, musa lover, anon and beatlesfan123. **

**I will get back to responding to you all individually next chapter, I can't this time because I have a super long announcement!**

**That's right! OC Submission!**

**I am a good number of OCs short for the battling tournament Sienna and the others will be competing in, so I need you guys help! I already have three, from Aeroga, WOWFan123, and Chaison, but I need more! So if you want to submit a character to take part in the battling tournament against Sienna and the gang, here are the guidelines:**

**_YOU MUST SEND ME AN OC BY PRIVATE MAIL ONLY.  
><em>This is completely non-negotiable. Must be sent in by private mail or the submission will not be accepted. **

**For the OCs I will need:  
>Name (first and last)<br>Age  
>Occupation: (trainer, breeder, co-ordinator etc)<br>Hometown  
><strong>**Appearance  
>Personality<br>Goals  
>Battling Experience (are they good at battling, do they have a specific style, how many badgesleagues have they won/competed in and how have they fared?)****  
><strong>**Pokemon (Maximum six. Please no legendaries and horrendously over-powered Pokemon. Like I'm very unlikely to allow someone with a team of only Pseudo-legendaries. Try and make it realistic! Shinies ARE allowed, but only one per trainer)  
>Pokemon's Moves and Nicknames<br>Pokemon's Personality and Relationship with trainer  
>Trainer's History (like what they've been doing, anything that's happened to them in their lives, hopes, dreams, aspirations)<br>Misc: Anything you feel is necessary to understanding your OC and their pokemon.**

**Try and make this as detailed as possible, okay? :) And if there's a specific person of the Spirited cast you'd like to battle, please specify that as well. Now remember... SUBMISSION BY PRIVATE MAIL ONLY. This is only because I don't want hundereds of OCs cluttering my reviews. Thanks guys! **

**I hope you can submit an OC and that you enjoyed the chapter!**


	12. Back to Normality Part I

It was unanimously decided that the first port of call was the Normal Gym in Goldenrod city. If I beat that Gym, I would be one badge closer to getting to challenge my father without having to trek around the region looking for a Gym, wasting even more time. Thankfully, the gym was surprisingly easy to find; being a prominent feature in the bustling hubbub of city life. However, no sooner had we reached the Gym, we were met with a problem.

There was a line.

And forgive me for sounding dramatic, but this was a line of epic proportions.

"Wow… this is insane." I breathed out as we turned the corner to the Gym. From the Gym doors, right up to the beginning of the street we stood in, there was a queue of trainers. They were packed tightly into a compact line, and it looked like it was made up of mostly younger trainers. I had to struggle to pick out anyone that looked over the age of fourteen. I found myself letting out a breath of surprise. I had never seen a queue this long in front of _any _gym before.

"Oh dear." Bailey said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I should have realised this…"

"What?" Nikki asked timidly when the rest of us simply gave him blank stares.

"All the young boys and girls Cal's been training…" Bailey explained, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "He encourages them to try beating Whitney once they get their license. Most of the kids train Rock, Ground, Steel or Fighting Pokemon… strong against the Normal types Whitney trains. Obviously, a lot of these kids think that's all they need to win. But I can tell ya, a lot of these kids are on their second, third, maybe even _fourth _times."

Jasmine let out a low groan of impatience. "I can't be bothered standing around here waiting to get in that gym! Stupid kids!"

I shot Jasmine a look. "Jazz, I'm getting that badge."

She let out an angered sigh, crossing her arms fiercely. Nikki's attempts to reason with her were just met with a stony glare.

Elliot shook his head at Jasmine's antics, before pinching the bridge of his nose and attempting to adopt a position of authority. "Okay, before we do anything I think we should figure out how many of us are challenging the Gym. I'm not, obviously since I've already won here—"

"You've already won here?" Bailey cut in, sounding shocked.

Elliot turned to look at him, his face completely nonchalant, as if it meant nothing. "Well, yeah… a couple of years ago in fact." He said airily.

"Wow!" Bailey said in awe. "That's amazing! I mean, I knew you guys were good! But I didn't know you were _this _good!"

I sighed, and a peculiar thought jumped into my head. "_Why does everyone judge other trainers by how many Gym Badges they own? I mean, I saved the world! But oh no. I don't get even _half _as much respect as a trainer who owns a couple of Gym Badges. Jeez, the world is backwards."_

"So, that's Sienna…"

I jumped at the mention of my name and noticed that Elliot was counting off names on his fingers. "Bailey, you want to challenge her, right? What about you, Jasmine?"

Jasmine sighed. "When in Rome…"

"I'll take that as a yes…" Elliot said, counting off another finger, before turning to Nikki and Scott. "What about you two?"

"Not me!" Nikki squeaked at once. "I don't battle, remember?"

"Okay, fair enough. Scott?"

Scott seemed strangely hesitant at first but then affirmed his decision with a swift nod.

"Okay, so that's Sienna, Bailey, Jasmine and Scott to challenge Whitney. So who wants to go first?"

Before I could say anything, Jasmine stepped forward. "I think Sienna should go first. She's the one who's top priority to get the badge after all. It doesn't really matter about the rest of us anyway."

"Well, hey…" Bailey sounded a little crushed. "I'd love to get a badge, you know…?"

Jasmine said nothing, but she shot the poor boy a glare that would have turned him to stone. I winced. Poor Bailey… He seemed to be like a magnet for Jasmine's discontent. The littlest thing he did had her annoyed at him. I seriously hoped she wouldn't demonstrate any of her Machoke style strength on him; the poor boy wouldn't know what hit him!

"Okay, Sienna first. And then who's next?" Jasmine asked.

"Does it matter?" Scott said agitated. "So long as we all get a chance, who cares what order we do it in."

"Scott's right." Elliot said firmly. "Now, let's stop this silly arguing and get in line. Especially since it looks like such a long line."

"I can't be _bothered _waiting!" Jasmine groaned in a tortured sort of way as we got settled into the back of the line.

"Don't worry," Bailey tried to assure her, while I cringed. Hadn't he learned his lesson from before? "I don't think we'll be waiting all that long. Whitney normally makes quick work of all these kids."

"You seem to know an awful lot about this," Jasmine said sceptically, looking Bailey up and down scrupulously. "Have you ever challenged Whitney before?"

"Nope, never." Bailey said cheerfully. "I'm not stupid. I know better than to go charging in to battle someone like a Gym Leader without proper training! I wanted to train up my Pokemon some more before I even _attempted _anything like this."

"Hey," I said as an intriguing thought struck me. "What kind of Pokemon do you _have _anyway?" I didn't even wait for an answer before chuckling, thinking it was obvious. "No, wait. Don't tell me. Rock, Ground, Fighting and Steel, right?"

To my surprise, Bailey laughed. "Not quite."

I blinked. "Then what—?"

He put his fingers to his lips and mimed shushing us in a comical way. "That's a secret," he grinned. "Well, it is until you see me battling."

Jasmine was shooting a look of thunder in Bailey's direction. I could practically _feel_ the resentment she held for that boy sparkling and crackling like Meloi's electricity. When she spoke, it sounded like her teeth were fiercely gritted. "What's the point in that? It's just your Pokemon! It's not like its some big important secret!"

"Jasmine." I muttered warningly, but she didn't seem to listen.

"I bet your Pokemon aren't even that good!"

"Well, gee…" Bailey looked a little taken aback, the smile slowly slipping from his face. "My Pokemon probably aren't as good as any of yours, that's for sure. But we're trying hard! That's why I wanted to come along with you guys,"

"Hmph. Anyone who worships that _idiot _Cal Volbeda probably can't battle worth anything!"

"Jasmine!" I snapped, surprising myself with the sharpness of my tone. "That's enough! Stop picking on Bailey! You and I both know that it's _never _a good idea to judge a Pokemon trainer without ever seeing him battle! Maybe wait and see how he does against Whitney before you go tossing accusations around!"

Jasmine recoiled, looking angry.

"Now, just…" My anger depleted, and I let out a long sigh, looking at the five people who stood in front of me in turn. "Just… calm down, okay? We can get along. It's not difficult."

Jasmine snorted, but thankfully she stayed quiet. When I glanced at Nikki she looked intimidated, her eyes wide. Elliot looked a little sheepish. Scott just returned a blank stare. And Bailey looked touched.

"Thanks Sienna," he murmured softly.

"Don't worry about it," I replied with another sigh. "Just worry about what you're going to do against Whitney. Gym Leaders are tough. You've never faced one before, have you?"

"No…" Bailey said. "But I've seen her battle when we took some of the kids to challenge her. She's amazing. She won't even go easy on kids."

"That kind of _is _the point of a Gym Leader." Elliot interjected.

"No, I know…" Bailey corrected himself hastily. "But you know… they're just kids. And she treats them like they're hotshot Pokemon masters…"

Despite myself, I swallowed in worry. She sounded tough.

"_Get a grip, Sienna. You've beaten Misty and Wallace already! And I'm pretty sure Wallace is a heck of a lot stronger than anything Whitney can do. So come on. It's not like it's gonna be easy. But it's not gonna be the toughest battle you've ever faced." _

But as time ticked on, we started to notice a worrying pattern. A young trainer would go in, then barely even ten or fifteen minutes later, they would come out again. In tears. I think the longest anyone ever lasted was twenty minutes. The shortest was five. And by the time the line was halfway done, the sight of the other children screaming and crying about being defeated sent the remaining kids running home. This left us with a clear, unobstructed path to the Gym.

"Well…" Elliot said as we watched the kids disappear in front of our very eyes. "Looks like it's your turn, guys."

* * *

><p>It only took us a few moments to get registered. The woman in charge of the desk seemed to know Bailey and took great delight in congratulating him for finally taking the gym challenge. However, we were all eager to get going so we pulled Bailey away and entered the battlefield.<p>

No sooner had we entered than we caught sight of a very excitable looking young woman standing in the centre of the battlefield. She was very pretty, probably in her mid to late twenties, but who still held onto a youthful, teenage look. She had bright pink hair tied into childish bunches and wore a short skirt with brightly coloured knee high socks. Her face was highlighted by expertly applied makeup, and her rosy cheeks and bright lips proved a testament to her obvious love of her girly appearance. However, I just found it a bit sickly sweet. A terrible thought invaded my head. She kind of reminded me of a cosplayer…

"Hey! More challengers, huh?" she said eagerly.

I stopped, finding myself inexplicably intimidated by her bubbly nature. "Uh, yeah."

"Wow," she said admirably, nodding her head. "At least you guys look tougher than all those kids I faced earlier."

"We've all had a bit more experience," I smiled back.

"Great!" She grinned. "How many of you are battling me?"

Jasmine, Scott, Bailey and I stepped forward whilst Nikki and Elliot scurried to the stands. A big, childlike grin spread across the girl's face. "Awesome! Well, my name is Whitney! You know, when I first started training, I wasn't all that bothered. Everyone else was into it, so I got into it. And you know what? Turns out I was pretty good! But I only use super-cute Pokemon! But I warn you, they're still tough! You still want to battle?"

We all nodded.

"Then who am I battling first?"

"That'd be me." I stepped forward. A kind of strange bravado had engulfed me, and I found myself easily able to speak and look Whitney in the eye without getting nervous.

"And you are?"

"Sienna."

"Sienna, huh? That's a pretty name." she smiled. "First time battling in Johto?"

"For a Gym Badge, yes."

"I can't go easy on you, you know?"

"I wouldn't expect you to." I said, smiling, my hand already touching on my Pokeball.

As soon as the others cleared the battlefield, we were ready to begin. Anticipation was bubbling up in me and I was eager to get started.

"This will be a two-on-two challenge between Gym Leader Whitney and challenger Sienna." The Gym proctor called out. "Challenger may use substitutions but the Gym Leader may not. No items can be used. No time limit. And…begin!"

"Gym Leader gets first pick!" Whitney cheered, pulling out a Pokeball.

I didn't argue. I wanted to see what she picked first before I adopted a strategy.

"I choose Clefairy!"

"Fairy! Fairy!" it cried as it burst out of the Pokeball.

"Huh…" I said to myself slowly. A Clefairy wasn't my immediate choice for a Normal Type Gym. I had anticipated something far more… deadly. A Clefairy just looked sweet and cute and pretty. But a niggling feeling was still eating at the back of my mind. I couldn't count this one out just because it didn't _look _threatening.

"So go ahead, who are you gonna battle with?"

It didn't take me long to decide. As bad as it sounds, I knew that if I went into this fight with Meloi or Aurora or Kiba, it would be over too quickly. I did tend to favour those three too much. I needed to start relying more on Monty, Indigo and Cairo otherwise they would be surpassed. I couldn't let that happen. I didn't want to be one of those trainers that relied solely on the stronger members. So, I made the decision easily. I was going to fight Whitney's Normal with my own Normal Pokemon.

My hand gripped around the Pokeball I wanted and I threw it forcefully down towards the Clefairy's feet. "I choose Monty!"

As my Persian burst out onto the battlefield Whitney started squealing. "Oh my Arceus! He's adorable!"

Monty looked disdainfully in her direction, obviously not impressed with that remark.

"It kind of makes me sad to beat up such a cute Pokemon," Whitney said, almost sadly but with the hint of wickedness.

"Yeah. I feel the same way," I said, eyeing the cute Clefairy slowly swaying from foot to foot, a wide beaming grin upon its face.

"We'll see about that," Whitney said with a smirk. With that, the battle was on. "Clefairy, let's start this off with DoubleSlap!"

I reacted quickly. "Get above it, Monty! And use Bite!"

As the Clefairy closed in on Monty, getting ready to use DoubleSlap, Monty effortlessly leapt into the air on his strong, lithe limbs. The Clefairy stopped in confusion, looking around to see where Monty had gone. Seconds later, Monty came down on it like a ton of bricks, sinking his sharp teeth into the Clefairy's thick plump flesh. The Clefairy squeaked in pain but didn't seem to be too adversely affected by it. I knew that Clefairy had good strong defences, just like their next evolution, Clefable. I had to hit this thing hard if I wanted any chance to beat it.

"Clefairy, use Sing!"

I cursed. That was a good move. Too good! Sing made any Pokemon that heard it immediately fall asleep. If Monty fell asleep I would be out immediately! "Monty, don't let it! Use Faint Attack!"

Monty responded perfectly, and no sooner had he broken into a run towards Clefairy, he disappeared! The Clefairy again stopped in surprise, looking around in confusion. This was a perfect opportunity for Monty to nail it from behind! He came into direct contact, the Clefairy squealing as the attack hit.

But again, it didn't seem to be doing much damage! The Clefairy was still going strong, showing no signs of tiring yet. As the two Pokemon faced off, I tensed, waiting for seemingly obvious choice of Sing again for the next move, and trying to formulate a strategy for a counterattack. However, Whitney had a gleam in her eyes that I didn't like at all.

"Clefairy! Metronome!"

I stopped. "_Metronome? What the hell is that?_"

"Fairy! Fairy! Fairy!" Clefairy chanted, waving two of its tiny fingers back and forth in a strange, rhythmic manner. "Fairy! Fairy!"

I could only watch, wondering what the hell was going to happen. Even Monty looked confused, scrutinizing the tiny pink Pokemon with obvious disdain.

"Fairy!" it cried, pointing its fingers upward.

And no sooner had that happened, a bolt of thunder suddenly appeared from nowhere! It flew straight down and crashed straight into Monty, crackling and bristling with impressive electrical energy. "Whoa!" I gasped in shock and surprise as the thunder engulfed Monty, shocking him. "Monty? Are you okay!"

"Mrrrow!" Monty was quick to verify that he was all right. This was one of the rare occasions I was glad for Meloi's habit of shocking everything in sight. Monty and the other Pokemon were so used to receiving stray shocks from Meloi that they were practically immune to them now.

Against my better judgement I called out to Whitney. "What the hell was that move?"

"Metronome," she said with a smile and a sing-song voice. "Basically with that one little move my Clefairy has access to _a-l-l _the attacks known to Pokemon _ever_! But you have to be careful. It's totally random what move the Pokemon will use. You can get something as awesome as Hyper Beam… or as useless as Splash."

I was nervous now. With an arsenal like that at its disposal, that Clefairy had just been promoted from "cute and cuddly" to "deadly". I had to take the thing out _now _before it _did _end up unleashing a Hyper Beam on me.

"Metronome again, Clefairy!"

I swallowed. "Umm… Monty, use…!"

But I couldn't think of anything and poor Monty got soaked in the face by a Water Gun. "Dammit!" I cursed my hesitation. That Water Gun hadn't done much apart from soak Monty, annoying him, thankfully not doing any damage. But my luck couldn't hold out forever! I couldn't take the chance it would unleash something insanely powerful. "Try a Fury Swipes!"

"Metronome!"

"_Is that all she knows_?" I think to myself angrily as Monty delivered a series of lightning fast scratches to the Clefairy's body. "_But then again… maybe that's all she _needs!"

Monty's Fury Swipes did next to the Clefairy. In fact, it did nothing at all apart from to frustrate Monty further. I could already see his tail bristling in anger and he began to growl as Clefairy came away unscathed. Clefairy then shot another Metronome, but all it turned out to be was a cute little Growl. Monty blinked in return, not looking particularly intimidated or even _impressed _by the display.

"Gah, come on Monty! Use— Monty?"

But Monty had his own ideas. I could only watch as Monty tensed, taking a stance. Confused, I tried shouting across to him, especially as the Clefairy was already beginning another Metronome. But then, a strange ball of yellow energy suddenly started to form on top of Monty's head! My mouth hung open as Monty expelled the ball, which crashed straight into the Clefairy. At such close range and with such power, the Clefairy was out.

But how!

"What the hell just happened?" I said in awe.

"Power Gem!" I heard Elliot shouting from the stands somewhere. "Monty just learned Power Gem!"

Monty sat on his haunches and started licking his paws. He then pointedly turned in my direction, obviously looking for praise. I was still stunned from the sheer display of power he had just exhibited, but I still managed to croak out "Well done, Monty!"

Whitney looked sad as she recalled Clefairy. "Oh my poor Clefairy…" she murmured, cradling its Pokeball like it was a newborn baby. She looked up to me. "You meanie." She stated bluntly.

I almost fell over in my shock. Had I heard right? "Meanie?" Wasn't she supposed to be the Gym Leader? Be gracious in defeat and praise people when they beat her? She sounded like a little five year old…

"Still, I can't see you beating _this _one!" she cried with relish.

And with that remark, she threw another Pokeball into the arena.

As I gaped at my next opponent, I couldn't say anything apart from "Oh brilliant."

If I thought fighting against the hardened defence of a Clefairy was bad, I would need all the power, and luck, that I could get when it came to _this _one.

A Miltank.

I really hate Normal types!

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note!<strong>

**Hey guys! Sorry for my lack of updates, things have been crazy here, but I'm back! **

**So first off! I'm getting a nice collection of OCs for the battle tournament chapter that I'm anticipating to be after Sienna gains her second Gym Badge but before she has a run in with a face from Meloi's past... So far, every OC I have recieved I have taken which means we have:  
>Robyn Collier (belonging to me)<br>Zack Hennessy (also belonging to me)  
>Luca Hollingsworth (belonging to Aeroga)<br>Sam (belonging to PKMNTrainerSam)  
>Chaison Coffman (belonging to Chaison)<br>Hikaru Brown (belonging to Hikaru Pichu)  
>Melinda Hughes (belonging to KR Diva)<br>Alicia Nakamura (belonging to TwewyReaperGirl)  
>Natsuki Ikebana (belonging to RoxiePluto)<br>Celeste Archos (belonging to WarriorSwift)**

**So yeah, I can still take a couple more OCs if anyone else wants to submit :)**

**So yeah, thanks to my regular reviewers. **

**Zoeten, I'm happy you like Bailey so much and think that he and Jasmine would be a good couple :) **

**Hikaru-Pichu, I think she will forgive him eventually. **

**WarriorSwift, I like to torture my readers sometmes. The big culmination of the battle between daddy and daughter is a little while away. **

**Sniper Mudkip, Bailey's team will be revealed quite slowly. He'll catch another two Pokemon obviously as time goes on. **

**Something Dictionairy Related, something similar is currently on the cards for the future, I just gotta figure it out in my head.**

**Manser77, yeah I thought that phrase fit Sienna well. **

**ArchXDeath, I'm keeping at it! I can't let people down :)**

**Aeroga, wow, people really like Bailey! Haha! :) He and Scott are awesome to write for. Jasmine has become fun to write for now too since she's being a bit of a bitch lately. **

**TwewyReaperGirl, NOM NOM NOM COOKIES! Yay!**

**Brave Soul RMS: Aww, thank you so much! Your review really lifted my spirits and actually inspired me to get this chapter out when I did, so thank you muchly!**

**Apologies for this super long author's note... Hope you enjoy everyone :)  
><strong>


	13. Back to Normality Part II

"Okay…" I said slowly, staring at the giant pink cow Pokemon standing in front of me. It returned my gaze with an almost lazy stare. I bit my lip worriedly. Miltank, like most of the Pokemon Whitney seemed to like, were renowned for their defence. I'd need something immensely powerful to even _hope _to do any damage. I swallowed back my agitation, cast a look in Monty's direction and centred myself once again. A voice rose up at the back of my head. I can't let myself be intimidated all the time! "Monty! Try another Power Gem… thing!"

"Mrrow!"

But the Power Gem attack, even as powerful as it seemed and perfectly aimed as it was, merely bounced off the Miltank's blubbery mass, reverberating off in the opposite direction. In a moment of blind panic, Monty had to leap straight into the air to avoid his own attack!

"That won't work against my Miltank!" Whitney cheered gleefully.

"Dammit!" I cursed to myself. The novelty of Monty's new move had completely dissipated in front of my very eyes. If something like that couldn't damage that giant cow Pokemon, there were no way his claws or teeth, as sharp as they were, could do any good either. I consulted my options desperately, before coming to a saddening conclusion. I _had _no other options. Monty couldn't win here.

It was with a heavy heart that I decided to make a tactical substitution. I wasn't normally one for substituting Pokemon; I preferred to battle it out until I had no other option. I hated to give in, hated to admit to both me and my Pokemon that a strategy wasn't working. But at the same time, I couldn't leave Monty at the mercy of this thing. There was no way he could win…

I held up his Pokeball, immediately causing worried whispering from the stands where my friends say. "Monty, switch out!"

However, before I could press the button to return him, he had turned on his heel and started hissing and spitting at me, fur bristling until every single strand was standing on end. He looked so fierce I almost dropped his Pokeball.

"Monty?" I flustered. "What are you doing? Get back in your Pokeball! You can't beat this thing!"

"Mrrow! Mrrrrow!" he hissed back.

"Get back in your Pokeball!"

"MRRROW!"

"You can't beat—"

"MRRRROWWWW!"

I sighed. I'm not someone who understands Pokemon-speak, but there was no mistaking what Monty was trying to tell me. That cat was as stereotypical of his species as you could get; stubborn and proud to the point of irritation. "Okay, fine." I gave up, replacing the Pokeball back on my belt. "Damn you Monty. You're too proud to just give up, aren't you?"

"Mrr!"

I grinned. "Okay, try a Faint Attack!"

"Miltank, use Rollout!"

Miltank immediately balled its giant body up and began charging towards Monty. With the giant pink mass advancing on him, Monty had no choice but to propel himself up into the air away from it. He landed perfectly on his feet, but no sooner had his lithe paws touched the ground; the Miltank was on him again! Monty, with no other option, broke into a speedy run, taking advantage of his speed to run ahead.

But the Miltank was picking up speed. Within a few seconds, it was right on his heels.

"Run, Monty! Come on!"

It was no use. Eventually, after charging after Monty in the most glorified version of cat-and-mouse I had ever seen, Miltank caught up. It steamrolled straight into poor Monty, sending the Classy Cat flying. He slammed into a wall, fell down its side and landed in a heap on the floor. He pitifully tried to get to his feet, but he couldn't support his weight. I ran over to him, my heart pounding.

"You poor thing," I murmured. "See, that's what happens, Monty. You should have come back when I said…"

"Mrrow…"

"You're too proud," I said, recalling him. He didn't struggle this time, which I was thankful for. "But hey." I murmured, as the Pokeball closed around him. "Pride isn't always a bad thing…"

The referee's voice bellowed out across the arena, making me jump. "Challenger has one Pokemon remaining!"

It didn't take me long to pick my next Pokemon. I won't deny I had my favourites back when I was training. Meloi, Aurora and Kiba…my powerhouses, the ones with the most wicked, strong and powerful attacks. I could rely on those three. I knew they would give me the win if I needed it. I felt awful knowing that I always neglected Monty, Cairo and Indigo. But not any more. I knew _exactly _who I could rely on to win against that Miltank.

"I choose Indigo!"

My Girafarig bayed proudly as she was left out. She started pawing the ground and snorting, staring down at the giant Miltank in front of her. A burst of excitement coursed through me. Indigo wasn't intimidated at all! In fact, she looked eager to battle!

I didn't wait to give the courtesy of the first move to Whitney. "Right, Indigo! Start off with Agility!"

Within seconds, a whole circle of Girafarigs were surrounding the giant Miltank. It mooed uncomfortably, worriedly surveying the group of snorting Pokemon.

"Don't be afraid, Miltank! Use Rollout!"

"Use Confusion to stop it!"

The Confusion from every corner of the Miltank was combined enough to halt it in its tracks. That thing was so powerful I knew that simply attacking it from the front wasn't going to be enough to stop it. If I attacked the Miltank from all angles, there was no way it could break free.

Whitney looked shocked as her Miltank struggled against the psychic force of the Confusion, unable to get away. Her mouth gaped open and shut like a floundering Magikarp, and I could see her trying to devise a strategy.

But I was quicker.

"Now, Indigo! Psychic!"

Psychic was a move that Indigo had only picked up right at the end of my training with Wallace. It was spectacularly powerful, its multicoloured waves slamming straight into the Miltank's girth, knocking it back. It looked like it had sustained quite a considerable amount of damage!

I took another chance as the Agility worse off and all the Girafarigs merged into a single one. "Confusion again! Head on this time!"

Another powerful blast of Psychic energy slammed straight into the thick hide of the Miltank. While it didn't seem to damage the cow Pokemon, it did Confuse it. A glazed, vacant look came over its eyes and it mooed slowly, as if trying to figure out where it was. When Whitney gave the order for her Miltank to use Rollout again, the Pokemon responded by slamming straight into a wall.

"Yes!" I cheered. "Damn, I love that move! Well done Indigo!"

"You haven't won yet!" Whitney cried out. "Miltank, use Milk Drink!"

My cheers immediately devolved into curses. Milk Drink was a move that was special to Pokemon like Miltank. It was kind of similar to Recover, Moonlight or Softboiled, where the Pokemon would replenish some health. That thing didn't _need _to recover more health! It was already enough of a powerhouse as it was. I had to stop it somehow!

But as luck would have it, the Miltank was still confused. It blinked vacantly at its trainer's instructions and mooed lazily. Whitney looked ready to burst into tears and started hopping up and down on the spot in her agitation, screaming instructions at the Miltank, which it ignored.

A surge of excitement coursed through me. "Indigo! Finish this! Psybeam!"

It was over. The concentrated beam of Psychic energy was too much for the giant Pokemon to take. The attack hit the Pokemon straight on. It wobbled precariously on its feet, before falling face first onto the ground, sending a massive tremor through the arena. Indigo stood proudly over her opponent, bucking and cheering happily.

Whitney on the other hand looked like she'd been slapped in the face.

"I… I lost? No… I can't lose!"

"Winner, Challenger Sienna!" the gym proctor called out.

Whitney's lip started to wobble precariously, and as I approached her, I definitely wasn't expecting her to burst into tears. "You meanie!" She suddenly burst out, making me jump backwards at her outburst. "How could you do that?"

From up in the bleachers I could have sworn I heard Elliot sigh. "Whitney _never _changes."

"Umm, Whitney…?" I offered slowly. "That is kinda the point of a Gym Battle…"

She ignored me, the tears slipping down her face and sobs penetrating her every breath. I approached her warily again, daring to get closer this time. "Whitney?"

"What? What do you want?" she hiccupped mournfully.

"My… my badge?" I suggested slowly.

"What badge?" she demanded.

"Your badge!"

"_My_ badge?" she sounded confused.

"Yes! The one _I _won for beating you!"

And then, miraculously as if it had never happened, Whitney's tears melted away as quickly as they came. From out of nowhere, she produced a wad of bills and a Badge set in the shape of a plain diamond and pressed them into my hands. "Aaaah! That was a good cry!" she said, sounding refreshed. "And a good battle too! So, who's next?"

I almost fell over. What was _with _this girl?

"Umm…" I heard Bailey's voice come from up in the bleachers. "If it's okay with all of you, I'd like to challenge Whitney next."

"Go for it," Elliot said kindly.

"Do your best!" Nikki cried.

"Break a leg." Jasmine deadpanned and Scott said nothing. He, up until this point, had been leaning forward expectantly in his seat, as if itching to get up and challenge Whitney. He wasn't quick enough to protest when Bailey asked to go next, however and I saw him sink back into his seat, a hint of disappointment marring his face.

"Sure!" Whitney cheered, before turning to me. "Thanks for the battle! Bye!"

And with that I was officially dismissed. My mouth gaped open for a few moments before I realised I had been asked to leave and I made my way back to my seat. It still hadn't quite sunk in that I had actually _won, _so bizarre was the reaction Whitney had taken. But I wasn't going to complain. I was one badge down and three to go. Only three more to get until I could battle my father and be done with the whole thing.

I passed Bailey on the way up to the bleachers. I stopped, and so did he. He looked horribly nervous, his normally red rosy cheeks pale. His hands were shaking and he was gripping a Pokeball in his hands. I spied only four Pokeballs hanging around his waist.

"Great battle, Sienna." He commented as we stopped.

I smiled. "Thanks. And… good luck. I'm… I'm sure you'll do great."

I felt a little mean saying that. I wasn't sure Bailey _would _do great. Normally I wasn't one for lying. I hated giving people false hope. Probably because _I _hated _getting _false hope. Whitney had been tough, and I was an experienced trainer with Pokemon probably a lot stronger than Bailey's. I mean, if I hadn't Confused that Miltank, stopping it from using Milk Drink, I probably would have never won. And Bailey still reeked of rookie trainer, even though he was probably the same age as Elliot. I found myself seriously doubting he could win. At the same time though, I didn't want him to be too disillusioned. You _had _to go into a Gym Battle believing in yourself, otherwise you were practically defeated before you even started.

I took my place between Elliot and Nikki on the bleachers. They all congratulated me for winning and then we focused our attention on Bailey.

"Think he's gonna win?" I asked around.

Scott and Jasmine with a resounding "no", Nikki mumbled something incoherently and Elliot just looked a little pained.

"_Poor Bailey…_" I found myself thinking as he introduced himself to Whitney. "_He's not going to win this, is he?_"

Whitney's first choice of Pokemon was a Jigglypuff. Sweet, pink and cute. I was starting to notice a theme here. Poor Bailey looked intimidated even by a Jigglypuff of all things.

"They look kind of alike, don't they?" Jasmine commented idly. "Apart from how Jigglypuff is pink… and cute."

"Jasmine, shut up and watch the match!" I hissed angrily. Why the hell was she so fixated on the fact Bailey was fat? "Look, he's about to pick his Pokemon."

Even as I said that, Bailey unhooked a Pokeball and rather clumsily tossed it into the arena. "Leafy, go!"

"_Leafy?_" I thought in disgust. "_What the hell is this going to be_?"

"Chika! Chika!"

As one of the official Johto league starter Pokemon burst from the Pokeball, we were all in shock. How on earth did Bailey manage to get _that _Pokemon? It was normally only reserved for ten year olds setting out on their journeys! Bailey lived in Goldenrod, far too far away from New Bark Town to get one, and he had told us he was too poor to afford something anything expensive and rare. And Chikorita was about as expensive and rare as you could get…

That meant, the only way he could have gotten it was from my Dad.

"Your father must have some powerful connections," Scott said in what I could have sworn was marvel.

"Must do…" I said, sitting back in my seat to watch the match.

Bailey started out well. His Chikorita dispatched its Jigglypuff opponent within only a few moves. Elliot was enraptured by the battle, admiring the Chikorita for being a Grass type. Bailey also seemed to favour a similar battling style as Elliot, choosing to shoot attacks from afar, and getting in with a nasty PoisonPowder straight off the bat to continually sap the Pokemon's health. The Jigglypuff fell to its defeat without much trouble, or effort, on Bailey's part. This surprised anyone and we all exchanged awed looks. Bailey seemed to be better than we had anticipated. Indeed, better than he had led us to believe…

"Huh…" I said slowly as Bailey celebrated with his Chikorita. "That was a surprise."

"It's luck, it won't last…" Jasmine said, folding her arms as if she was the authority on the subject.

I could hear Whitney saying something about "not being able to beat her next Pokemon so easily". I wholly wished she wasn't going to spring another Miltank on the poor boy. That would be disastrous.

She didn't release another Milktank, thank God. But it was something almost as bad. She released a Wigglytuff. I groaned. There was no way he could beat her now.

Give him his due though, in the face of such overwhelming opponents, he tried. I could see his face marred with concern and worry as he tried to figure out some way to get around the Wigglytuff's impossibly high defence. What little damage the little Chikorita had done to the Wigglytuff's health was recovered with its Moonlight attack and then returned tenfold. Even the PoisonPowder didn't seem to be having much of an effect. The poor Chikorita was getting absolutely battered.

And then, just as things started to look really hopeless, the Chikorita started to glow with a white light. Moments later, Leafy the Chikorita became Leafy the Bayleef. The look on Bailey's face as he looked at his new rejuvenated Pokemon was priceless. Almost heart-warming, even. It kind of reminded me of what I had been like the first time one of my Pokemon evolved.

With his new rejuvenated Bayleef, and to our immense surprise and awe, Bailey had little trouble fighting off the Wigglytuff. He simply barraged it with attack after attack, not even giving it a chance to use Moonlight to recover health. Finally the poison got the better of the giant pink Pokemon and it too fell to the ground defeated. Bailey had won!

We cheered for him of course, but poor Bailey looked like he'd been slapped in the face when Whitney burst into tears again at her loss. She relinquished the badge after a short struggle, and Bailey, beaming from ear to ear jogged back up to us. After congratulations and a full five minutes of him gushing about how he'd never expected to win, it was Jasmine's turn to battle.

I found it strange that Scott had let Jasmine go ahead of him. He had been practically at the edge of his seat when Whitney had first asked who was next, and had looked more than a little annoyed when Bailey had gone first. But after Bailey's battle when Whitney had asked who was next, both Jasmine and Scott had risen to their feet expectantly. As they met each other's eyes, I had sworn a tiny blush had appeared on Scott's face. Seconds later he had swept his hand in the direction of the battlefield and sat firmly back down, letting Jasmine go first.

"_What's with that boy…_?" I found myself thinking. "_He acts nasty to everyone else. Why's he being so… courteous to Jasmine? Weird…_"

An explosion of flame erupting from the battlefield distracted me from my thoughts and I quickly turned my attention to Jasmine. She was battling a Clefairy with her Quilava, Sulphur. The powerful beams and rings of fire spread across the battlefield, engulfing everything with its intense heat. And Jasmine stood calmly in the middle of it, unflinching and totally at ease, giving instructions.

"Wow," I heard Bailey breathe out from nearby. He sounded totally impressed, marvelling at the displays of strength from her Quilava. "She's good."

I smiled across at him. "That's nothing. You don't wanna piss her off, that's for sure. Her Pokemon are wicked strong, but so is she. I swear, the girl's part Machoke!"

Bailey looked worried. I started to wonder if I'd maybe said the wrong thing…

Jasmine handled the battle superbly, winning her own Plain Badge in a fraction of the time Bailey had taken. She relied solely on Sulphur to take out the Clefairy and subsequent Clefable that Whitney sent out. She practically grabbed the badge from Whitney, completely ignoring the girl's tears, and clambered up to the bleachers.

Whitney announced that she had to heal her Pokemon before the final challenger could compete against her. I expected Scott to cause a fuss, but he sat there calmly and saying nothing. I leant across to congratulate Jasmine when she joined us, and to my surprise, both Scott and Bailey cut in over me.

"That was an excellent battle Jasmine! Your Quilava is really powerful." Bailey gushed.

"You did a good job," Scott's voice was monotonous as always, but there was a strange light in his eyes. He was looking at Jasmine when he spoke to her, which was definitely unusual for him.

I sighed. They hadn't been this animated when _I _had won. "Hey, that's no fair. What about my congratulations?"

Scott turned to me. "What about them? Bailey beat the Gym Leader with one Pokemon. Jasmine beat the Gym Leader with one Pokemon. _You_ had to use two."

"I had to use two Pokemon when I beat her!" Elliot tried to offer helpfully, but he was immediately shot down.

The boys started to argue, albeit in a good-natured way. I sighed, dropping my head into my hands. Nikki offered me a sweet smile. "_I_ think you did really well, Sienna."

"Thanks Nik," I groaned.

Scott's battle couldn't come quick enough. It was _over _quick enough too. I was on tenterhooks, desperate for him to release a Pokemon that wasn't Marowak, Rhydon, Pidgeot or Quagsire, but I was disappointed. Scott's Rhydon took down the Jigglypuff and Miltank almost as soon as they were released and the battle was over within minutes. Bailey's mouth was gaping open and as we all squeezed out down into the main arena to meet up with Scott, I heard him muttering to himself.

"I can't believe how strong all these people are…"

Scott collected his Plain Badge and we all thanked Whitney. She still looked a little upset at losing to so many people in one day, but Elliot assured me that that was just her way. We exited the Goldenrod City Gym and took a few moments to collect ourselves.

The topic of the next badge was an inevitable one. We all turned to Elliot for the answer to this one. He was the only one who had any experience with the region of Johto after all.

"Well," he said, trying to look official. "We've got two choices, I guess. As far as the closest Gyms go, we can either head south from here to Azalea Town, or north up to Ecruteak."

"What kind of Gyms are they?"

"The one in Azalea is run by Bugsy. It's a Bug type Gym. And the one in Ecruteak is run by Morty. He's a Ghost type trainer."

"That doesn't make the decision any easier…" I groaned, running a hand through my hair. I was about to turn around and ask the others for their opinion when a cheesy, jingly tune interrupted me.

All of us, including Scott and Bailey, looked accusingly at Nikki. Normally whenever anyone's phone rang, Nikki was the culprit. She was the only one, after all, who had someone outside of the group who regularly called for her. She was blushing this time, frantically shaking her head. "No! It's not me!"

"Then who—?"

"It's me!" Elliot sounded as surprised as he fished out his phone.

"Who's phoning _you_?" I asked indignantly. Normally the only phone calls Elliot got were the very rare check in with his mum or dad, or me when I want something. I knew it couldn't be his parents because they spoke to him only the other day, and it _obviously _couldn't have been me.

Looking slightly worried, Elliot consulted the caller ID and his eyes bulged. He stared at the ringing phone, not doing anything, just looking shocked.

"What? Who is it?" I pressed him.

He looked up at me, open-mouthed. "It's Lance!" he said in surprise.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hey guys! Me again! I've been working hard over the weekend on this chapter, so I hope you enjoy! **

**I have a couple of questions though that I need you to answer honestly. What do you think of Bailey as a character? Do you think he and Jasmine would be a good pair? And, am I neglecting any characters, human or Pokemon, of late? **

**I'd also like to apologise if any of the canon characters are OOC. I mean, I haven't watched the anime in years, and I go by what I can pick up from games and wikis. I know that I take some creative liscence with them, Lance especially, and you'll see a lot more of that in the next chapters. Where I attempt to write comedy. Yay!**

**Something Dictionary Related: I don't know, sometimes I think people don't want to read all my pointless ramblings! haha! :)**

**WarriorSwift: Yeah, Bailey is just the epitome of innocence and naivety :) **

**Manser77: I'm sure I can fit the name in somewhere :)**

**Sniper Mudkip: Yep! You were right! Sienna relied on Indigo! A lot of people guessed that actually...**

**KRDiva1: Wish granted! Indigo finally got some screen time :)**

**TwewyReaperGirl: CAAAAAKE! SUGGAAAR! NOM NOM NOM! Oh man, I love sugar. :)**

**Zoeten: I don't think so, I mean I let people submit OCs for the tournament, but I wouldn't feel right messing with such intricate characters that weren't mine, if you know what I mean? Even if I did get permission, I wouldn't want to cos I would feel I wouldn't do it justice. Besides, this isn't a crossover fic anyway...**

**ArchXDeath: I will wait patiently for whenever you can update, don't worry :) I have a vague idea how the OC tournament is going to go, so don't worry about that either. :) Thank you!**

**Aeroga: I actually really like Miltank even though beating Whitney in Silver was a nightmare. I'm going to try and show more of Cairo and Indigo. Obviously they came along relatively late in the game, so Sienna doesn't rely on them as much as she SHOULD. Bad girl. **

**Immabeemee: Again, so sorry to hear about your account being hacked! :/ If i ever find the person who did it... BAM! :( You ship Bailey and Sienna? O.o I never thought of that... I cant' imagine Elliot being too pleased. **

**So yes, I shall leave you with a preview of later chapters! Just so you know the vague order of things.**

**Elliot and Lance enjoy a Monty Python moment!  
>Sienna takes on another Gym!<br>OC TOURNAMENT!  
>Sienna has a run in with a face from Meloi's past<br>More Gym battles.  
>THE PLOT BEGINS TO UNFOLD! <strong>

**So, yeah. OceanSpiral out! **


	14. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

_Disclaimer: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life is in no way mine, it belongs to the creative genius that is Eric Idle and the rest of the Pythons! _

* * *

><p>Bailey looked astonished. "Lance? <em>The <em>Lance? Lance as in the Elite Four Lance?"

"Yes," Elliot said, almost impatiently. "My big brother. Well half-brother." He added somewhat flippantly. "Now shush, I need to listen."

He accepted the phone call and pressed the handset to his ear. We all immediately quietened. I kept my ears particularly strained to make out what Elliot was saying.

"Hey, Lance? Is something the matter?" There was a pause, Elliot's face knotting in confusion the longer it went on. "Uhh… Goldenrod City, actually." another pause, this one considerably shorter. "Sienna's here to see her father in Goldenrod." A brief pause. "I told you when we left, it's not my fault you weren't listening." A brief pause, Elliot letting out a haughty sigh in the process. "Her dad got released, and opened a dojo in Goldenrod. He's asked her to get four gym badges and then she's gonna battle him. I _told _you this." Another brief pause. "I sent you a text message, do you _ever_check your phone." Elliot held the phone away from his ear for a second and I could hear Lance's angered voice at the other end. "Why do you want to know anyway?" A long pause. "Oh right, I see." Another brief pause. "Oh, really?" another pause. "Are you serious? Well okay… umm, where do you want to meet us?" A brief pause. "Sienna, me, Nikki, Jasmine, Scott and Bailey." Another pause. "Bailey." Another pause. "Bailey!" A short pause. "No, not _Baileys _you idiot! That's a liqueur! He's from the dojo Cal runs."

Bailey was looking considerably uncomfortable at being talked about. I did however have to stifle a laugh at the thought of Lance confusing Bailey's name with the Irish cream liqueur.

"Right, so where do you want us to meet you? The city centre? Dinner? Sounds good. Okay, see you in a few." Another pause. "Yes, _bye _Lance."

He clicked off the call, looking a little weary. "That was Lance." He said needlessly.

"I got that." I said with a short laugh.

"He's _such _a scatterbrain," Elliot said with a sigh, replacing the phone in his pocket. "I phoned him _and _texted him to explain everything to him but he still acts like this is the first he's heard of it."

Before I could ask something else, Bailey butted in. "Elliot, was that _really _Lance from the Elite Four."

Elliot blinked. "Yeah."

"Is he _really_your brother?"

"Yeah," Elliot said lightly. "Well, half-brother. We don't have the same mother. So I'm not related to Clair or any of the Dragon clan."

Bailey didn't seem to care. "That's amazing!" he gushed. "I had no idea! You do actually look quite like him now that I think about it!"

"Great." Elliot said through fiercely gritted teeth.

"Anyway!" I interrupted, before anything could escalate. "What does Lance want?"

"Oh yeah," Elliot had his proverbial light-bulb moment. "Well, do you remember when I went to Lance's at last New Year's and we ended up going to Blackthorn to see Clair and the Dragon Elder?"

"Yeah…" I said warily, wondering where this was going.

"Well, Lance's grandfather gave him a baby Dratini to look after cos it had been orphaned by its mother. Lance had to look after it until it was strong enough to go back into the wild. Well he says now the baby Dratini _is_strong enough, so he's heading up to Blackthorn to release him back to the Dragon's Den. He got in touch to ask if I wanted to come with, but when he heard we're all in Johto he decided to come meet up with us for dinner. I mean, if that's okay?"

Bailey looked like he was about to faint. There was a funny look on Scott's face too. Even Jasmine and Nikki looked a little intimidated. I couldn't blame them. To them, Lance was still the elusive, mysterious, intensely powerful member of the Kanto and Johto Elite Four. To me he was the big brother of my boyfriend, who actually harboured a bit of a soft, sweet side, who came to visit me in the hospital, told Elliot I was too good for him, liked a casual drink, and was a bit of a scatterbrain at times. Just like any big brother really. Fair enough, that didn't negate the fact that Lance was still pretty much all business, and was one of the most intimidating men I'd ever met. He just seemed to radiate brilliance and strength and majesty, someone you definitely didn't want to mess around with. Albeit though, I still had something of a soft spot for him.

"So, it's okay, right?" Elliot asked again.

"Well I haven't got a problem with it," I grinned. "I haven't seen Lance since last year. It'll be good. Dinner's on him, right?"

Elliot looked a little taken aback. "I'd… assume so?"

"Awesome," I beamed. "It's settled then."

Elliot grinned happily.

"So, when's he going to be here?"

"A few hours. He said to meet us in the centre of town."

"So, what are we gonna do in the meantime?" I consulted everyone around me for a bright idea, but all I got in return were five identical blank stares. I sighed, and cast a glance off at the familiar red roof of a nearby Pokemon centre. I was steadily starting to grow weary of their identical interiors. We seemed to spend so much of our lives inside one. "Okay… so I guess it's the Pokemon Centre, huh?"

We spent the next couple of hours chilling out at the Pokemon centre. Scott took off as soon as we got to the Pokemon centre to sit at one of the computers, Elliot disappeared to phone his mother, Nikki and Jasmine went off to the Pokemon mart to pick up supplies, and that left Bailey and me alone. Nervously, I took a seat next to him on the regulation Pokemon centre sofa. We sat in silence for a while. It wasn't like I didn't have anything to say to him, but whenever I got brave enough to contemplate saying something, my words seemed to evaporate right in front of me. Instead, I compromised by snapping the top off a lemonade can and gulping down as much as I could.

And then, out of nowhere, he suddenly announced "I'm going to phone Cal."

I almost spat out the lemonade I was drinking. My words got stuck in my throat and I could only cast him a, no doubt, horrified look. He seemed to understand and hastily tried to remedy the situation, his sentences all crashing into each other. "Well, I won a badge after all! And so did you! And Leafy evolved too, so I'm sure Cal would love to hear about it." He paused, to catch his breath and then cast me a wounded look. "You don't mind… do you, Sienna?"

I groaned inwardly. Bailey looked like a sad Growlithe. The guilt came in waves and I eventually managed to croak out "Yeah. Sure. Go for it."

Bailey paused once again as he took out his phone. "Or… maybe you'd like to do it? He's your father after all."

"Uhh…" I faltered. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, Bailey…"

"Oh, come on, Sienna," He appealed. "I'm sure your dad would much rather hear all this from you than me,"

"Don't bet on it," I insisted weakly, but I knew I was beaten. I had been well and truly been blackmailed without even knowing what had happened.

With that, Bailey gave me the number and before I knew what was happening, I was nervously phoning my father. He answered on the first ring. "Hello, Free Spirits dojo, how can I help you?"

"Dad?" I blurted out foolishly.

"Who _is_ this?"

I gave a start. "It's _Sienna_!"

"Oh, Sienna!" he sounded embarrassed. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to phone. Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine." I said, somewhat stiffly. "I won the Plain Badge earlier. From Whitney."

"You did?"

"Yeah. So did Bailey."

"Amazing. We— well done…" he stammered.

"Uhh, thanks. Uhh, listen… I think…" in an instant, my bravado left me and I chickened out. "I think Bailey wants to talk to you." I blurted out and shoved the phone in Bailey's direction. For some reason I couldn't stand to hear his voice.

As I pulled myself together and calmed myself down, Bailey wittered on in the background. I found myself listening in as he gushed on about winning his first gym badge, how Leafy, his Chikorita, evolved, how nervous he was about the next badge, what amazing trainers we all were and various other things. Eventually, after what seemed like an age, Bailey, rather sheepishly, returned my phone to me.

"Thanks," I said, stowing my phone away. We proceeded to sit in silence for a while. I started bouncing my knees up and down, privately wishing the others would hurry up and get back. As I glanced at Bailey, a thought suddenly struck me. "Hey, Bailey?" I ventured.

"Yeah?"

"I've been meaning to ask, how come you have a Chikorita? I thought they were only for new rookies?"

Bailey smiled. "Cal sorted it all out for me. He contacted Professor Elm and managed to convince him to send up a set of three Johto starters for the top students at the dojo."

"Wow," I said admirably. I hated to admit it, but that was pretty impressive. Not many people I knew could convince a renowned Pokemon Professor to send up three official Johto starters for _free_. Dad certainly knew his stuff, I had to give him that.

I suddenly became aware that Bailey was still talking and I quickly tuned back in. "See, I got the Chikorita, and two other girls got the Totodile and Cyndaquil. They left the dojo a long time ago though. It was thanks to Chikorita that I managed to catch the other Pokemon I have too."

"Which are?" I found myself asking.

I expected him to withdraw into himself and refuse to tell me, but surprisingly, a grin flashed across his face. "Don't tell the others, okay?" he smiled, starting to count them off on his fingers. "I've got a Corsola, Zubat and a Misdreaveus."

I was a bit taken aback. He owned mostly Johto Pokemon, which was understandable, but I had never expected him to own a Misdreaveus. The malevolent Ghost type just didn't seem to fit Bailey's personality. Nevertheless, I nodded. "Interesting combination,"

He smiled. "I hope I can be as good of a trainer as everyone else here. I mean everyone is so talented. Elliot and Scott especially… and you girls too!" he added hastily seeing my face drop. "You're talented in different ways! Nikki has her contests, your Pokemon are totally awesome and Jasmine…" he faltered for a moment, looking a little uncomfortable. "Jasmine is just amazing too."

I was about to open my mouth to say something when Jasmine herself suddenly burst through the Pokemon centre door. Nikki was following her looking more than a little uncomfortable to be carrying bags of supplies all by herself. I quickly rushed to her side to assist her, taking some of the heavier bags from her.

"Guys! Guys!" Jasmine's excited voice cut through us. "Look what I caught!" she cried, producing and throwing a Pokeball down onto the ground without a moment's hesitation.

"Hera! Heracross!"

In a fit of fear, I dropped all of the supplies I was holding and sped away from the giant bug Pokemon. Nikki cried out in protest as all the supplies hit the floor, but for once, I didn't care. "Jasmine… where the hell did you get that _thing_?"

"What?" she protested, looked pained. "I think it's cute! Besides, I needed some new Pokemon on my team after all!"

"But why did it have to be a Bug type?" I squealed as the thing turned its beady eyes on me in a manner I didn't trust at _all._

"Cos it's awesome." Jasmine deadpanned.

I was about to open my mouth to protest further, when all of a sudden, the Pokemon centre doors swung open once again and Elliot suddenly darted through. "Hey guys! Listen, we're gonna be meeting Lance in like five minutes! We need to hurry up!" He then stopped as he laid his eyes on the Heracross. "Oh, nice Heracross! Whose it is?"

"Mine," Jasmine said proudly.

"Nice one," Elliot grinned. "Now come on. Grab Scott and let's go!"

Jasmine recalled the offending Heracross and disappeared outside with the others, while I let out a long tortured sigh. "_Bug __types. __Of __all __the __types __in __the __world, __it __had __to __be __a __Bug __type!__"_

* * *

><p>We arrived just as Lance appeared in the city centre. I had wholly expected him to be flying in on his Dragonite and dressed completely in his Elite Four gear, but he was dressed casually in jeans and a shirt and there was no sign of his trusted Dragonite anywhere.<p>

"Lance!" I called out, running up to him.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as I juddered to a halt. "Hello Sienna,"

"It's good to see you again,"

"And you," he replied courteously. Elliot was standing nearby, looking hopeful. Lance smirked. "You're still dating my brother? You're too good for him, you know."

"Funny," I grinned, hooking my hand in Elliot's. "I always thought _he _was too good for _me._"

"Good answer," Lance said with a swift nod. He then turned his attention on to the other four members of our party. I could see him visibly trying to remember their names. After a slightly too-long pause, he ventured "Jasmine, Nikki, yes?"

The two girls squeaked a reply. "Yes!"

Lance nodded. "It's good to meet face to face again under better circumstances."

I found myself smiling. Lance had only ever met Jasmine and Nikki once and that was when I was still in hospital. But I suppose no-one had been that interested in making pleasantries back then…

Lance then turned his attention on to Scott. "Scott, I presume?"

Scott nodded, not looking at all intimidated. I mentally cringed. Lance was practically taking his life in his hands trying to initiate a conversation with the fourteen year old…

"I heard you were supposed to be challenging the Kanto League last year. I _also _heard good things about you… but I was disappointed to hear you chose not to take part. Can I ask why?"

I cringed again, waiting for Scott to tell Lance to push off and mind his own business or something to that extent.

"I chose not to enter because I didn't feel I was ready yet, Sir."

I stopped. Was that really just _Scott _speaking? Polite, calm, respectful, even calling him "sir?" I must have stared at the boy for a full five minutes, jaw gaping open until Elliot elbowed me in the ribs.

"And why not?"

Scott's shoulders twitched in the most minute of shrugs. "I wasn't ready. My Pokemon and I weren't working together properly. I had lost in the Hoenn league because of that, and I knew that I hadn't grown up enough to even _hope _of winning in the Kanto league."

Lance nodded his approval while we all stared on in astonishment. "Good man." He said swiftly. "It takes a lot of courage to admit you're not ready for something. I admire that in a trainer."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Don't call me "sir". It's Lance."

"Thank you, Lance."

Lance smiled before turning to Bailey who almost fell backwards in his fright as Lance's eyes fell on him. "And this is Bailey, yes? You were a former student of Sienna's father, yes?"

"Yes…" Bailey squeaked.

Lance's eyes hardened. "You picked the wrong man to train under, my boy. I am aware that Cal Volbeda certainly _seemed _to change after the events that unfolded two years ago. I assume you understand _everything _that happened and you still choose to follow him?"

"With— with all due respect, uh, sir." Bailey murmured. "I _am_ aware of what Cal did back then… and I _am _aware that he was wrong to do it. But… Cal… he gave me the opportunity to become what I always wanted to be. He gave me the chance to be a Pokemon trainer, just like he's giving all the kids at the dojo the chance too! So I can't… I can't exactly forget that…"

Lance nodded. "I see. Well, I admire your honesty and loyalties. Those are also good traits of a trainer. I can only assume that your master taught you well."

"He did, Sir."

"Lance." Lance corrected him. "Now, perhaps we should go for dinner now. I'm rather hungry, aren't you all?"

We were all a little surprised by the abrupt end to the conversation, but the tiniest hint of a smile adorning Lance's face seemed to give everyone courage. I grinned, and a resounding "yes" echoed throughout our strange little party. Lance smirked, turned on his heel importantly and began to lead us through the busy Goldenrod streets.

* * *

><p>Let me start with the positives.<p>

Dinner _started __off_ well. Lance had picked a nice bar, posh and polished, but not completely intimidating for us to eat in. The seven of us had a gorgeous two course meal, paid in its entirety by Lance, despite all of our efforts to give him money for it. Lance told us many stories of his time in the Elite Four, from his fledging initiation, to his time as Champion. He _also_told some funny stories about his childhood, and one particularly hilarious tale about a drinking competition between himself and his younger brother on Elliot's birthday.

"I would have won too," Elliot said with a sigh.

"No, you wouldn't." Lance said with a good-natured smile. "You were a newly turned eighteen-year-old who'd never held a drink in his life. There's no way you could have bested me."

"Yeah, but I distinctly remember _you _passed out before I did." Elliot shot back in defence. "Besides, I can handle my drink better now!"

Lance smiled. "You really think so?"

"I do."

"Care to make that a bet?" Lance said with a smile.

Elliot replied with a definite yes.

I threw my head in my hands at this point.

Now, for the negatives…

Half an hour later, everything seemed to have descended into chaos. Elliot and Lance were already well into their drinking. Jasmine, the only other person of drinking age in our group, was sipping at a vodka and orange with no obvious effect. Bailey, Nikki and I were standing around a collection of soft drinks, praying we wouldn't be noticed as being underage. Scott had already escaped while he had the chance. I found myself wishing I had run off too. Things were starting to get intense.

Lance was the first one to get a little too tipsy for his own good. After chugging his fifth beer in a row, he turned around to look at me. It was like he was seeing me for the first time. "Hey!" he cheered suddenly, in manner so unlike Lance I almost fell off my chair. "There she is!" he slurred. "My future sister-in-law!"

Before I could even open my mouth, Elliot had stepped in. "Hey! Don't _you _go saying that, Lance! She… we're not _married _yet, you know!" he then turned to me. "Hey, Sienna…" now he looked like he was going to burst into tears. I found myself backing away as his face zoomed in uncomfortably close to mine. "I love you so much, you know?"

"Oh God…" I cringed.

"Will…will… ya marry me, Sienna? I swear we can make it good, I promise!"

"Ask me again when you're sober," I said primly, taking another sip of juice.

"Heh, you just got turned _down _my man." Lance clapped his brother fiercely on the shoulder, accidentally making him headbutt the table. "I think this little lady knows what she wants, huh, dontcha Sienna?"

"Yes, Lance, I do." My attempts to pacify him weren't doing me, or Elliot, much good.

Elliot lifted his head from the table, a painful red mark spreading across his forehead. His lip was quivering dangerously. "She won't marry me!" he wailed.

"Yet!" I remedied hastily, feeling a blush invade my head. From nearby, I _swore _I could hear Jasmine and Nikki giggling.

"I can't live if my girl doesn't want to be with me!" Elliot wailed, grabbing his brother by the neck and shaking him slightly. "It's all your fault Lance! You… You…" he paused, looking helpless before seizing him tighter and roaring "YOU KILLED US ALL!"

"Elliot, be quiet!" I hissed, mortified.

"Nuuuu!" He protested, shaking his head vehemently. "Not until you marry me!"

Lance had descended into fits of girly giggles at the other end of the table. I had no idea what he was laughing at, but his attempts to reach out to his glass were proving fruitless. He was practically grasping at midair in an attempt to catch his glass.

"Elliot," I warned him as his voice got gradually louder and louder. "Shush!"

"Nope! Not till ya marry me!"

"Elliot…"

"Marry me…?" he asked me sweetly.

"No, Elliot…"

"Marry me…"

"I said—"

"MARRY ME!" he suddenly shrieked.

"Okay, fine, fine, fine!" I leaned in close towards the table, feeling a fierce blush invade my face. Jasmine was spluttering with badly concealed laughter and Nikki was repeatedly muttering "Oh my God" in an embarrassed way. "Do you take me to be your wife?"

"You bet your fine ass I do."

"Okaay…" I was seriously trying to keep a lid on my patience. Pandering to drunk people was not high on my 'favourites list'. "And I take you for my husband. So, yada, yada, yada, love and devotion, etcetera, etcetera, you may kiss the bride."

Elliot lunged to kiss me and missed, his lips barely even grazing mine and then smacked his face into the table once again. At this, Lance went past the giggling stage and was now honking like a goose. He also then proceeded to spill a good deal of his drink down himself.

I groaned. "Elliot, you and that brother of yours are going to be a _mess _in the morning."

"I'm married now…" he slurred in reply, his voice muffled by the wood of the table.

"Good for you…" I sighed, collapsing my head in my hands to conceal my blush.

He raised his head from the table, another large red welt slowly forming on his forehead. "I'm a married man! Married men have to drink! DRINK!"

"No!" I insisted, catching him as he attempted to stagger back to the bar. "I think you've had enough."

"Enough? Enough is never enough for a drinking competition!" Lance slurred, taking the last dregs of his own beer and then slamming his empty glass into the table for good measure.

"Laaaaance, big brotherrrrr! My new wife won't let me drink!"

"Well little brother, there's a cure for that…" Lance slung his arm around his brother's shoulder. "You know, when some things in life are bad… and they really make you mad…"

I recognised those words immediately. One of Elliot's favourite songs and practically a motto he lived by. He loved it that much he tried to have it as his ringtone on his phone before I secretly changed it. "Oh please God, not this again…"

Lance continued nonetheless. "You know cos other things can make you swear and curse."

"When you're chewing on life's gristle, don't grumble! Give a whistle!" Forget singing, Elliot was practically bellowing out the words. His attempts at the whistle just emerged in a wet raspberry.

"And this'll help things turn out for the best! Aaaaaand…"

"Oh God, kill me now."

"ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE!" the entire bar seemed to bellow back before bursting into song like a scene from a cheesy musical, while the bemused bar staff looked on.

"I'm leaving," I said, standing up and grabbing my coat as Elliot, Lance and a great deal of other heavily drunk customers started belting out the iconic Monty Python tune. "Over-affection and fake marriages I can deal with, Monty Python theme songs I cannot…"

"Sienna? Where ya going?" I heard Elliot shout after me as I stalked out of the bar.

"In search of the Holy Grail," I quipped back. Elliot seemed to take this as a perfectly reasonable answer and continued to belt out the song.

The song by the way, seemed to echo all the way across the mainly deserted Goldenrod streets and followed me like a stubborn bad smell right up to the Pokemon centre doors.

"_If __life __seems __jolly __rotten_

_There's something you've forgotten!_

_And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing!_

_When you're feeling in the dumps_

_Don't be silly chumps_

_Just purse your lips and whistle, that's the thing!_

_And! Always look on the bright side of life…"_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Ahh, I finally updated. Updates will be slow for a while until I get rid of all this backlog of uni work I need to do.**

**This chapter was fun to write, but yes, this chapter and the next one don't have much to add to the plot apart from to showcase Lance and Elliot drunk. Haha! Fun Fact: the entire of Elliot and Lance's actions I based on REAL-LIFE escapades with my friends when alcohol was involved :P**

**Yeah, so as I said, this chapter and next aren't really too plot heavy, just kind of filler that I did for fun and a bit of a light-hearted feel, but afterwards, Sienna and the others challenge Bugsy! **

**Thanks to my reviewers, splashstorm, Sniper Mudkip, ArchXDeath, TwewyReaperGirl, eeveelutionluvr, Manser77, Brave Soul RMS, WarriorSwift, Zoeten, anon, Aeroga and May and Dawn are the best :)**

**Apologies for the fact the italics screwed up. I didn't even notice until Zoeten pointed it out.**

**Thank you everyone for your patience :)**


	15. The Aftermath

The morning came too quickly and by the time the alarm rang loudly at half seven, I felt like I'd only just closed my eyes to sleep. As much as I wanted to stay in bed, I was conscious of the fact we really had to leave Goldenrod that day. Getting those Gym Badges had to be my top priority. A strange thought struck me as I rolled over, and I couldn't help but smirk to myself as I reluctantly eased my way out of my bed, thinking how funny it felt to be going on a "normal" Pokemon journey. A journey exactly like thousands of other little kids aspired to and embarked on every year. It felt a little weird; I had to admit, not having to worry about rescue missions or finding people that didn't want to be found. I was pretty much free to do whatever I wanted.

I shook awake Nikki and Jasmine, who were both surprisingly fresh and willing to get up. Especially Jasmine. Unlike me and Nikki, she was eighteen, meaning she was old enough to drink with Elliot and Lance and she had taken advantage of it. However, she showed no signs of suffering for it, and was bright and cheery, even more so as Nikki and I, as we dressed and headed down for breakfast.

As we settled into a hearty breakfast, I noticed there was still no sign of Elliot or Lance. Funnily enough, Scott and Bailey were nowhere to be found either. I wasn't particularly worried about _them_, mind you. I was more interested in Lance and Elliot.

"So, what happened last night?" I asked Jasmine, while wiping toast crumbs from around my mouth.

Jasmine smirked. "What _didn__'__t _happen last night is what you should be asking."

"Go on, tell!" I begged her.

"All right," Jasmine said with a wicked smile. "Nikki and Bailey left about ten minutes after you, you know that obviously."

"Yeah," I nodded, remembering Nikki shyly sidling in the door of our room not long after I had returned.

"It was getting too loud in there for me, but I didn't want to go back on my own," Nikki explained behind her cereal. "So Bailey walked me home. He's very nice, isn't he?" she asked, looking pointedly at Jasmine.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Jasmine said airily, waving her spoon around. "Well, we finally got out of there just after twelve, I think. Elliot and Lance pretty much forgot we were even _there_by the time eleven o'clock came around… the two of them were really away with it."

"Oh, God, what did they do…?"

Jasmine started to snicker. "At one point, both of them had climbed up onto the tables. Lance stripped—"

"He _what_?"

"Don't worry, he didn't get any further than his top before he fell off the table and smashed his head off the floor." Jasmine said with an evil snicker.

I couldn't help but snort with laughter. The mental image was just too funny. The idea of seeing the calm, composed, intimidating Lance completely intoxicated, attempting to perform a striptease and then faceplanting to the ground just made me howl with laughter. "Oh God, I really hope there weren't any press there. Poor Lance…"

"Don't worry, everyone else there was far too drunk to remember." Jasmine chuckled.

"And what about my significant other?" I asked wearily. "Do I want to know what he did?"

"He…" Jasmine paused as she thought about it. "He wasn't _as_ bad."

"What _did_ he do…?"

"Well, he disappeared for quite a good portion of the night," Jasmine said, pouring herself some orange juice. "When Lance eventually decided he wanted to leave, we couldn't find Elliot anywhere. Eventually we found him underneath one of the booths clutching an empty bottle of beer. He'd lost his shoes somewhere along the line and _someone _had draped Mardi Gras beads over him…"

I laughed again. "Oh my God…"

Nikki spoke up. "Do you think they'll remember anything? You know… like when Elliot insisted Sienna had to marry him?"

Jasmine burst out laughing while I cringed. "Oh yeah! That was hilarious!"

"No it wasn't!" I cried. "God, I _really _hope he doesn't remember that."

"He will," Jasmine said with a swift nod. "And if he doesn't, I'm going to _make _him remember. _And _about the Monty Python thing. _And _the Mardi Gras beads."

I groaned. "God, just seeing those two… I _never_want to drink! Please don't ever let me…"

"That's a point actually," Nikki suddenly piped up. "Where _are _Lance and Elliot? They haven't come down to breakfast," she said, casting a glance at some empty chairs as if expecting them to materialise in front of us.

"Scott and Bailey _refused _to share a room with them, so they stuck Elliot and Lance in the room next to ours, and Bailey and Scott moved down the corridor,"

"Maybe we should go and see them?" I suggested. "You know, we should really be making a move this morning down to Ecruteak."

Jasmine looked at me. "You sure you want to do that? The two of them will be hungover as hell…"

"We _really _need to move to Ecruteak though," I stressed. "I don't want to stay in Goldenrod forever. Come on, let's go to their room."

"Pffft," Jasmine snorted. "All right. Just don't say I didn't warn you,"

"It couldn't be _that _bad, could it…?" Nikki asked nervously.

"Course not," I said primly. "Now come on, let's go."

* * *

><p>"Oh. My. Good. God!"<p>

That was the only thing I could say after I'd rapped on the door, and heard a bleary shout of "come in!" I tentatively pushed open the door that housed Elliot and Lance. "Lance!" I screeched, hastily backing out and slamming the door behind me as I caught _more _than an eyeful of the Elite Four member. "Put some damn clothes on!"

From behind me, Jasmine burst into peals of crazed laughter while Nikki cringed.

I could hear slamming and muttering coming from behind the door and then seconds later, it swung open again. Lance's head poked out, but this time, thank God, he seemed to be wearing a robe. However, he looked an absolute mess. His sweaty hair was stuck all over his face, his eyes were bloodshot and red and he stank of alcohol.

"Good morning," I smiled down at him.

He grunted. "What's so good about it…?"

Ignoring that gripe, I tried to glance past Lance into the bedroom too see if I could catch a glimpse of Elliot. "Uhh… is Elliot up?"

Lance frowned in a pained way, banging his forehead into the door frame. "Elliot…" he called weakly. "Your wife is looking for you…" he murmured before disappearing back behind the door.

"WIFE!" I heard a high-pitched, falsetto squeak that could only belong to Elliot.

Elliot himself appeared at the door a few seconds later, looking in an almost identical state as his big brother, just significantly more panicked. However, as his eyes touched on me, he instantly relaxed, letting out a nervous laugh. "Oh thank God… it's just you, Sienna! I thought I had done something _really _stupid like ask some random to marry me or something!"

Before I could say anything, Jasmine intervened. "You _did _ask someone to marry you," she deadpanned.

Elliot's face dropped. "… what?"

"You asked someone to marry you." She repeated, a sadistic smirk touching on her face. She was enjoying this. And to an extent, I kind of was too.

"Who?"

"Sienna."

Elliot looked like he was about to faint. "I— I— I— what?"

"Yeah." I smiled. "You asked me to marry you. Repeatedly." I had to stifle laughter as I saw Elliot's face pale further and further with every word I said. "Don't worry, it didn't _actually _happen. When it came to kiss the bride, you faceplanted into the table. You seemed to forget about it after that. Oh yeah, and then you and Lance started singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.""

"We did _what?_" I heard Lance shriek from inside the room.

"You sang the Monty Python theme song." I called out.

"What? But I've never watched Monty Python in my _life_!" I heard Lance groan from inside and then a corresponding _thump. _I had a vision of him falling to the ground in despair and I had to bite the insides of my cheeks furiously to stop from laughing.

"I won't tell you about the stripping, then!" Jasmine called through the door.

"I remember _that_!"

We all creased in laughter, but Elliot looked worried. "I didn't… do that… did I?"

"No." Jasmine smiled. "You did however lose your shoes, lie under the booth for half an hour and somehow acquired Mardi Gras beads."

"Oh that's where my shoes went…" Elliot said slowly.

I smirked, before folding my arms and adopting a more business-like demeanour. "So. Any chance of you getting up anytime soon?"

Elliot looked at me in a pained way. "Can we get some time?"

"But Ecruteak…" I protested, drawing the word out in a whiny way.

"But hungover!" Elliot wailed.

I sighed, realising I wasn't going to get anywhere. "Fine. But I want you both down here before midday. We need to get going to Ecruteak. Right? Midday."

"Hey, you're not my sister-in-law yet! Don't tell me what to do…" I heard Lance say from behind the door.

"Lance, you were supposed to be in Blackthorn _last __night_." Elliot said firmly.

"No I was no—! Oh mother—!"

"Lance!" Elliot cut across him as he started blasting out expletives that would have shocked a hardened pirate. Jasmine was spluttering with laughter behind me. I could even hear Nikki's tiny little squeaky giggles. I was still adamant I was going to keep my self-control. Well that was until Lance's shouts started reaching ear-splitting levels.

"I've got eight missed calls from Clair! Grandfather will kill me! Elliot, get out the way! I need to get showered!"

"Well, hey! Don't use _my _stuff!"

Elliot slammed the door on us at that point, and the noises of arguing exploded from within the room as soon as it shut. I could feel the laughter tickling my throat, desperate to burst out. In a vague attempt to contain myself, I chanced looks at Jasmine and Nikki. It proved fatal. They both had wicked grins on their faces, and an identical one crept across mine. Within seconds we were howling with laughter, not even caring if Lance and Elliot heard us.

* * *

><p>Later on in the day, I was sitting in front of the Johto Regional news; my legs crossed idly, slowly picking at a packet of crisps. The Pokemon Centre was quiet; the only people in the lobby were Jasmine, Nikki, Scott and Bailey. There was still no sign of Lance or Elliot and it was steadily creeping up to midday. I was beginning to get agitated…<p>

"_Now, __we __have __some __breaking __news __for __you. __It __seems __that __a __riot __has __broken __out __in __the __normally __peaceful __city __of __Ecruteak!_"

"You're kidding!" I said out loud, catching the attention of my other travelling companions.

"_It __appears __a __group __of __local __Pokemon __Rights __activists __have __been __protesting __outside __the __Ecruteak __Gym __and __what __is __described __as __a__ "__minor __scuffle__" __broke __out __when __the __gym __leader __Morty __attempted __to __break __up __the __fights. __There __have __been __reports __of __paint-throwing, __egg-throwing, __and __attempts __to __occupy __the __Gym. __We __would __like __to s__tress __to __the __public __that __although __the __riots __have __passed, __the __Gym __Leader __has __requested __people __to __stay __away __for __their __own __safety. __The __Ecruteak __Gym __Leader __is __expected __to __issue __a __statement __later __on __today. __We __will c__ontinue __to __provide __you __with __the __latest __news __and __pictures as we get them. For the moment however, we shall hand you over to our special guest Melinda Rivers, who's here to debate the on-going issue of whether or not Pokemon training is cruelty, or simply part of our everyday lives."_

"Disgraceful."

I jumped as I heard a voice behind me. Lance was standing over me, his arms folded. He was kitted out in his Elite Four gear, his cape billowing around his ankles, any signs of a hangover long gone. "Ever since the Unova region was plagued by those idiots Team Plasma, activists have been trying to stir up even more trouble. They claim that capturing Pokemon is immoral, and that Pokemon don't have any rights. That's just foolishness. Anyone clever enough to read the law can clearly see that in a lot of cases Pokemon have more rights than ordinary humans! These people… they don't really believe that Pokemon training is cruel. They're just looking for a cause to fight. Such foolishness. They see one sniff of a possible scandal and they're all over it. They just want an excuse to jump on a bandwagon and go around kicking up fuss. They're almost as bad as the Anti-Pokemon Protestors. The very _idea _that the leagues should be abandoned, that Pokemon training should be banned… it's despicable!"

I looked across at Lance. "Why do people all of a sudden think that Pokemon training should be banned."

"Sienna," Lance said with a slow sigh. "You know as well as I do the statistics of Pokemon training. There's a high casualty rate in trainers, especially in the younger ones. People think its immoral to subject kids to "the big bad world out there" so young. Pah. They forget that people have been doing this for _years. _Hundreds upon thousands of years. People have trained Pokemon since the beginning of time."

"I don't get it," I said with a sigh. "Yeah, I admit the kids are young when they set out, but that's what Pokemon school is for! To _teach _them how to survive and live out on their own. And it's not like kids are _forced _to do it."

"The APP think that it's ridiculous that kids go out chasing badges for a living. They complain that children aren't getting an education, aren't getting qualified to work in the so-called "real-world" and that we're dealing with too many injuries and missing persons' cases for Pokemon training to be viable. You know as well as I do all the horror stories of brand-new ten year old trainers setting out and getting hurt, or maimed or even worse because they couldn't control their Pokemon or… or… fell off a cliff or something. And it _is _terrible, I can't deny that. I mean, yeah, Pokemon training can be dangerous, but the wrong person behind the wheel of a car is also dangerous."

I sighed. "So, you really think they'll ban Pokemon training?"

"They can never ban Pokemon training," Lance said firmly. "But I've heard talks of them trying to raise the legal age you can leave home to something ridiculous like 16 or something… and that you have to have attained a certain degree of education beforehand."

I opened my mouth to ask something else, when the newsreader cut me off.

"_We __have __reports __that __the __Johto __and __Kanto __League __Champion __will __be __giving __a __speech __on __the __matter__…_"

Lance nodded his approval. "Good on him. I had a suspicion he would say something about this."

"Lance…" I said slowly. "Who… who _is _the Champion…?"

Lance smiled, and I saw a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "For a while, he was me."

This wasn't really news to me, Elliot had told me something about it long ago, but it was still pretty amazing to hear it from Lance himself. "Wow! That's amazing, Lance!"

"Yes," he had a nostalgic smile upon his face. "I served as a champion for many years. When I was eventually knocked off my spot, I claimed a position of the Elite Four. I'll never forget the day I met the man that took my place. He's an exceptionally strong trainer, and I believe that he came from your hometown," he smiled.

"Really?" I breathed out slowly.

"You didn't know that?" Lance looked a little shocked.

I shrugged. "To be honest, I probably wasn't interested in Pokemon when he became champion. I probably wouldn't have cared if the champion came from Pallet. I mean, the town isn't like what it used to be. It's huge now… people don't know each others' business like they used to," I said with a short laugh.

"The boy was a rare talent, but something of a late bloomer." Lance continued. "He travelled through many other regions before eventually coming home to Kanto to take on the League. He's remained undefeated for maybe three or four years now."

"So, what's his name? Would I know him?"

"He was a friend, well… _rival _of Professor Oak's grandson." Lance explained. "He also is good friends with both Pewter City and Cerulean City's Gym Leaders. His name is—"

"Sienna!"

"_Typical__…_"

I turned around immediately as Elliot came jogging up to me. "Hey, sorry that took so long. Lance was hogging the shower." He added darkly, shooting a look in Lance's direction.

"No, it's okay…" I said, mildly annoyed that I'd missed out on hearing the champion's name. I made a mental note to try and ask someone next chance I got.

"So, Ecruteak?" Elliot asked me eagerly.

"Can't." I said simply, gesturing at the news.

""Pokemon Activist Rioters in Ecr—" Oh, man, I can't believe it." Elliot said with a sigh. "Those Pokemon rights activists are headcases! People have been catching and training Pokemon since the beginning of time! It's not like this is a new thing! This is all that Team Plasma's fault!"

"Nathan was a member of that team once…" I said slowly, remembering something that the leader of Team Quantum had once said. "But he left…"

"Nathan? A member of Team Plasma!" Elliot wrinkled his nose in disgust. "That's completely ridiculous! Didn't Team Plasma want to _release _captured Pokemon? What was it? Liberation of Pokemon or something? All Nathan and Team Quantum wanted was to capture Pokemon! Jeez! They were just like Team Rocket and all those other idiot gangs! Can't any of them do anything different apart from to capture Legendaries?"

"Easy, Elliot…" I said with a sigh. "Look, I don't really care about these Pokemon rights activists. They're headcases! People _don__'__t _abuse Pokemon! And if they do, that's why we have police and the PPA—"

"PPA?" Elliot frowned.

"Pokemon Protection Agency, Elliot, please keep up." Lance commented dryly.

"That's why they exist." I concluded firmly. "These guys are obviously just out to cause trouble, and it's trouble I want to stay away from. So, I vote we go down to Azalea Town and challenge the Gym there. And then, if we need to, we can come back through and go to Ecruteak that way."

"I agree. That sounds best." Elliot nodded.

"Need a lift down there?" Lance asked casually.

"No." Elliot said at once, turning a suspicious eye on his brother. "You're just trying to put off going to see Clair!"

"Do you _blame _me?"

I had to laugh again. I couldn't believe how much I had laughed over the past two days. My ribs and chest were sore from the amount of hysterical laughter Nikki, Jasmine and I had done while confronting Lance and Elliot. As strange as it sounds, being out on the road like this again was brilliant. At least, to _me _it felt brilliant. I didn't have to conform to the rigid contours of everyday life. I didn't have to follow a strict timetable, have to do certain things at certain times. Don't get me wrong, I love my life. I love living at home, going to pastry school and learning what I love to do. But here, out on the road, I was free. I could go around places at my leisure, I could spend time with my friends who I barely ever see, and I could train my Pokemon and battle them, and meet some of the most interesting people and Pokemon in the world. I was free out here. Pokemon training was the gateway to a life of freedom. When I was younger, I had never understood why so many people went out on a journey. It dawned on me now, as cliché as it sounds, that people did it because they wanted to be free.

_"That's why Dad called his dojo "Free Spirits"…"_ I thought to myself slowly._ "It represents being free… he's giving these kids the ways and means to escape their ordinary lives. Wow. That's incredible. That's really the kind of work that changes lives… I kind of wish I could do something as worthwhile as that…"_

I was distracted from my proverbial eureka moment when the rest of our travelling party suddenly appeared at our side. I blinked in surprise as all of a sudden we were surrounded by Nikki, Jasmine, Scott and Bailey.

"Hey, guys." I said, a little flummoxed.

"Are we ready to leave?" Jasmine asked, folding her arms.

"I think so." I said, casting a glance at Elliot who nodded. "Yeah. We're headed to Azalea Town."

Bailey looked a little disappointed. "Ohh…"

"Why, what's the problem?" Jasmine demanded at once.

"Oh, nothing…" Bailey said. "It's just… Azalea Town is a Bug Type gym. The one in Ecruteak is a Ghost one. I think I would have done better with that one…"

"We can't go to Ecruteak," I pointed out. "Pokemon Rights activists are rioting up there. We won't be able to get _near _the place."

"Wow." Jasmine deadpanned. "Déjà vu much."

I blinked in surprise, not understanding what she was referencing. "Huh?"

"Nothing," she said with an airy shake of her head.

Puzzled, I swiftly moved on the conversation. "So, Azalea Town then?"

Everyone nodded.

"Okay, we'll set out straight away," I nodded. "How long will it take to get us there?"

Elliot shrugged. "A day or two? Maybe less if we make good time."

"I can deal with that," I said nodding.

From nearby, Lance cleared his throat loudly. "I shall take my leave then."

I smirked. As soon as there were people other than Elliot and I around, Lance immediately switched back into his more formal, intimidating "Elite Four" mode. I doubted it would have made any difference now, considering how pretty much everyone around us had seen what a total fool the enigmatic Elite Four member had made of himself. I had a feeling even _Bailey_'_s _idea of him had been forever tarnished.

"Just don't let Clair or the Dragon Elder know you've been drinking," I grinned, flashing him a wink.

"I think, in the best interests of everyone, we should keep last night's escapades firmly between ourselves." Lance shot everyone his best impression of an angry glare, and everyone squeaked involuntarily. Immediately I knew he had successfully intimidated everyone into keeping silent. Regardless of last night, and the idiot he had made of himself, he was still an impressive and threatening man, especially if you didn't know him as well as I did, being my boyfriend's brother and all.

We walked Lance outside where he released his Dragonite. Almost as soon as the giant bipedal Dragon appeared, people in the immediate vicinity stared ooh-ing and aah-ing. Lance grimaced, knowing he'd been spotted. Clearly not in the mood to deal with his "adoring public", he hoisted himself up onto his Dragonite. Once settled onto his trusted Pokemon's enormous girth, he ran his eyes over each of us in turn.

"Nice to see you all again," he said with a hint of a smile.

"You too. Good luck in Blackthorn," Elliot replied, patting the giant Dragonite on the head.

"I'll need it." he grimaced.

We all laughed, before he bade us a final goodbye and took off into the distance. Just in time too, as no sooner had the giant Dragonite launched into the air, the area was swarmed with people desperate to catch a glimpse of the elusive Elite Four member. Dejected at missing out on their chance, the crowd almost immediately turned on their heels and skulked off dejectedly.

We all stifled a laugh, watching as Lance and Dragonite became a red and orange speck dotted on the horizon and then slowly disappeared from sight. From behind me, Elliot let out a long sigh. I slipped my hand into his. "He'll be back soon,"

Elliot was silent for a few moments before eventually saying "Yeah. Yeah, I know…"

Jasmine cast a disapproving eye over us after a few moments of silence had passed. "So… are we _going _to Azalea Town or are we just gonna stand here like a bunch of lemons?"

"Yes, Jazz, we're going to Azalea Town!" I said wearily. "Come on, let's go then, if you're so desperate!"

Following Jasmine's direction, we started the long walk south to Azalea Town. It was sunny and unusually warm for the beginning of April, and we were glad of a brisk, cooling wind. There were a lot of people travelling the same route as us, and it was difficult to keep the group together. Added to this, Elliot was still rather distracted; shooting hopeful glances up into the sky. Nikki and Jasmine were walking ahead, while Scott and Bailey dawdled behind. I desperately wanted to know what they were talking about, but their conversation was hushed, coming in small, infrequent bursts. When I sneaked a glance at Bailey, he looked a little awkward and embarrassed. While I was intrigued as to why, I realised that Elliot was beginning to look sad and worried, and my heart gave a little twist. Grabbing onto his wrist to slow him down, I pulled him into a hug.

"Lance _will _be back, Elliot." I smiled up at him. "You two get on so well now."

"Yeah…" Elliot nodded, resting his chin comfortably on top of my head. "It's good…"

"So what are you so depressed about?"

"I'm not depressed!" he protested at once.

"Elliot, I know you too well." I laughed. "Come on, cheer up." I paused, before trying again. "Always look on the bright side of life?" I offered sheepishly.

"_Well __life __is __quite __absurd__—"_

"Elliot," I stopped him. "If you sing that song again in my company, so help me, I _will _dump you."

Elliot burst out laughing. "Got it," he said, pulling me in close for another hug and a long sweet kiss. A warm smile burst onto my lips on its own accord, and I just wanted to cling onto him forever. He grabbed my wrist and thrust our clasped hands high into the air, in a manner embarrassingly reminiscent of characters from the old Pokemon cartoons. "Now, let's hurry up. Let's go to Azalea Town!"

"Azalea Town!" I echoed happily, the wind picking up and licking at my hair.

Jasmine and Nikki looked more than a little surprised when Elliot and I suddenly ran past them, laughing. Glancing at each other only momentarily, they too broke into runs after us, giggling as they ran. I looked back expectantly at Scott and Bailey, still mysteriously lagging behind, only to see Scott mouth something that looked suspiciously like "morons". I let out another burst of laughter and continued racing down the route with my friends.

I felt truly free here.

And I loved it.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Yeah, another chapter where not much seems to happen... Sorry guys! It'll get better from now, I promise. **

**Anyway, couple of things I have to say. The only reason you're getting an update so early is that it's my 19th brithday tomorrow (the 7th) and my friends don't seem to care, so I started writing and did about three chapters in an evening. :/ Haha! Now I'm turning 19 in two hours (It's ten at night here at the moment) and I'm bored and I have nothing to do :/ So you guys cash in!**

**Secondly, I've done some drawings for a Pokemon fic named "Moonlight" by a friend of mine, Dean12321. The links for both the fic and the drawings are on my profile, so check them out if you have time :) **

**Thirdly... I wrote the ending scene of Free Spirits today :O I got sad writing it, that's all I'm saying to you on the matter. **

**WowFan123: I had to write Elliot and Lance drunk. It just HAD to happen. :)**

**WarriorSwfit: Yeah, I couldn't deal with them drunk, personally. Even though Elliot and Lance's antics are based on real experiences from real people I know... haha!**

**Sniper Mudkip: Bailey has his ways in getting Corsola and Misdreaveus, they will be explained in later chapters, don't worry! And I did consider using the Lumberjack song, but I thought "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was more iconic and recognisable. **

**Manser77: Yeah, I'm really sorry for my prolonged absence... **

**Eeveelutionluvr: Yeah, hangovers are not pretty... the two of them were properly suffering...**

**Hikaru-Pichu: That was just a typcial Sienna reaction, wasn't it? "In search of the Holy Grail!"**

**Sunbean: Yeah, Sienna was properly mortified. I had such fun writing the chapter though.**

**Padfoot Arcanine: Don't worry, university taking up the bulk of my life too! But thanks for catching up!**

**ArchXDeath: Naaaah, I wasn't dead! Haha! But thanks for caring kohai! Elliot and Lance share a father, their mothers are different.**

**Zoeten: Thanks for pointing out the italics screwed up, I didn't even notice! :O**

**Aeroga: Sienna's put a ban on drinking EVER AGAIN on Elliot. So now he can't cook or consume alcohol. Poor boy. Haha!**

**TwewyReaperGirl: Haha! I'm glad you enjoyed it! NOM NOM CAKE! *eats* Yay! Got cake for my birthday!**

**KRDiva1: Aww, glad I made your day! Thanks for reviewing!**

**May and Dawn are the best: I had wanted to script a drinking competition for ages (but to anyone here underage - PLEASE DON'T DO IT! I live in the UK, so drinking at 18 is allowed!) Thanks for reviewing!**

**So, thanks everyone and please read and review! **


	16. Like Old Times

Azalea Town was, like Elliot had said, only a day or so away. By the time night was falling, we were only around ten miles away. For once, I didn't really mind the lengthy trip. The surrounding landscape was enough of a distraction. The countryside leading from Goldenrod down to Azalea was beautiful. I couldn't believe how quickly the urban settings melted away to tranquil, rolling countryside, with the sweet scent of flowers tickling our nostrils.

That first night on our way down, we decided to simply camp out under the stars. It was still a little chilly for my liking, but Nikki and Jasmine (with the help of their Pokemon) busied themselves by building a fire that cast delicate warmth spilling into our little campsite. Bailey, proving to be as good of an outdoor cook as an indoor one, managed to put together a delicious meaty stew soaking in gravy from a cut of cheap meat we found in a local supermarket and a couple of root vegetables. As we sat with our warm stew and chunks of crusty bread, light conversation washing over me, I let out a contended sigh as I stared up at the tiny twinkling stars above me.

It hit me like a head on collision from a Rhyhorn.

I was happy.

Well, up until Meloi butted into me and I spilled the majority of my boiling hot stew over myself, but the sentiment remained.

Next priority, after we ate, was to get the Pokemon all fed. Both Bailey and Scott seemed to be oddly private about this, retreating to more secluded areas to carry out this task. Elliot also announced that he'd be taking his collection of Grass and Dark Pokemon out for a "vigorous run" before he fed them, claiming they needed the exercise as, aside from Nikki's, his Pokemon were the only ones not engaging in routine battles. Come to think of it though, besides the battle with the rookie trainers back in Cerulean and the battle with Whitney, _I _hadn't done any training either…

I didn't have time to worry about it though as, realising we had all this open space to ourselves, us girls made the executive decision to make the most of it and release our Pokemon to have a relatively comfortable, and hopefully stress free, feeding time.

As Jasmine released her Pokemon, I realised that she had changed her team around. She had out and around the campsite, her allergy-ridden Quilava, Sulphur, who was sneezing at everything in sight from the pollen, (sneezing _fire, _I have to add) as well as her Delcatty, Skittle, who was locked in a battle of wills over the only remaining Sweet Poffin, with her stubborn Ivysaur, Heather. Her Azumarill, Mizu, was happily bouncing around, dancing between the bursts of flames coming from Sulphur's sneezes, but there was no sign of Nightshade the Hypno, or Terra the Sandslash. Instead, her newly caught Heracross was lounging idly near to her, and there was a small, round, brown bird hopping around, hooting loudly.

"Jasmine?" I frowned, singling out the bird with my finger. "Where did you get that Pokemon?"

"Who? Albus?"

"Albus?" I frowned deeply.

"Yeah, my Hoothoot!" Jasmine said with a smile as the round bird hopped up to her. "Cute, isn't he?"

"Okay, when did you catch_… _Albus, then?" I said, while privately thinking Jasmine's _Harry __Potter _obsession was slowly bordering on the ridiculous.

"Oh, when we were camping out near the Miltank farm," she said lightly. "There were loads of them hanging around at night."

"What?" I said incredulously. "When did you have time to catch it? I was awake all night in the tent! I never saw you leave."

"This was _before _we pitched the tent, idiot," she said with a sigh as Nikki began cooing at Albus the Hoothoot trying to get it to hoot back at her. Albus responded with a swift peck to the top of Nikki's head, sending her scuttling away squealing.

"And what about that… _Heracross _over there…?" I said with a shudder as the giant Bug type lumbered around the trees. "What's it doing here?"

"Aww, don't be so nasty to Honey!"

"_HONEY!__"_

"Yeah! I think it suits her!"

"That _thing _is _female_? Oh, actually, I don't wanna know…" I said with a shudder, turning away with the intention of focusing on my own Pokemon, but stopping when I saw Nikki.

She was dodging in-between her array of Fire Pokemon, expertly avoiding the odd contented burst of flame from her rather dopey Numel, Etna. Nikki's other three Pokemon, Dixie the Ninetails, Blaze the Charmeleon and her Magby (still without a nickname!) were flitting in and out under her feet, desperate for food. I smiled to myself. Nikki and Fire Pokemon… it was a combination I had never anticipated. Sweet and shy Nikki loving blazing hot Fire Pokemon… No-one could have seen that one coming. It still made me laugh to this day.

"Hey, Nik," I called over to her.

"Uh, yes?" she replied, sounding flustered as Magby started hanging off her skirt, giggling and kicking its legs happily as it swung.

"How come you've never caught any more Pokemon than just Blaze, Dixie, Etna and Magby?"

She frowned a little, sitting down, sweeping Magby off her skirt expertly. "Well I don't know… Fire Pokemon are really hard to find if you don't know _exactly_where to look for them. And training up a whole new Pokemon for contests is difficult. I mean, you know how long it took me to get Etna ready…"

I laughed, staring at the dopey Numel blundering about in search of Poffin crumbs. "Well, I think Etna is a special case…"

She grinned, but she caught sight of something over her shoulder and shrieked. "No! Magby! Don't burn that down!" she leapt to her feet and tore into the forest after her rapidly disappearing Magby. The worrying scent of burning wood tickled my nostrils, and sighing I nocked Aurora's Pokeball from my belt.

"Aurora, go do some damage control." I told her lazily.

Aurora burst from the ball and obediently waddled off towards the smell of burning whilst I chortled to myself. Deciding I really should give my Pokemon something to eat, I released the remainder of the Spirited Six (yeah, that nickname really had stuck) and began passing out Poffins. As usual, Kiba and Meloi practically _inhaled _theirs, Indigo crunched hers up slowly, even sharing her bounty with Aurora when she returned, Cairo disappeared with his to eat them, warily watching Kiba and Meloi, and Monty ate his slowly and carefully, in a manner that reminded me of a scrutinizing restaurant critic.

We spent around half an hour like that, the three of us girls and our Pokemon, mingling together like the old times. I had to laugh as Nikki's array of Fire Pokemon adopted my Kiba and Jasmine's Sulphur into their little group. It was cute to see a little clan of Fire Pokemon playing together. Well, until things turned nasty when egos started to clash and the "who-can-create-the-biggest-fireball" competition sparked up. It was fair to say that the Fire Pokemon were separated from that point on.

Realising it was getting late, and with no sign of the boys as of yet, Nikki, Jasmine and I decided to start setting out the camp and sleeping bags. Of course, with so many Pokemon kicking around our feet, this wasn't exactly the easiest of tasks…

"Cairo, get off my head!" I protested as Cairo settled into his favourite position as I was trying to lay down my purple patterned sleeping bag.

He buzzed and chirruped happily as I stumbled around, refusing to move. "Cairo!" I hissed, trying to bat him away, but he had practically suctioned himself on. "Guys? A little help?"

I heard a bark from nearby, and seconds later, force collided with my mid-section. With a screech I was knocked backwards onto the grassy ground. Gasping for breath, I felt pressure leaning down on my chest. Spluttering, I found myself face-to-face with Kiba, barking angrily at Cairo. Buzzing irately at Kiba's interference, but thankfully knowing better than to challenge the fire Pokemon, Cairo flapped his wings and lifted off my head. This however still left me with the problem of having Kiba standing on my chest, slowly cutting off my oxygen supply.

"Kiba, get _off_!" I hissed, trying to shove the puppy Pokemon off me. "You're getting too big to be doing this…"

He barked happily, covering my face in energetic licks before gambolling off towards an unsuspecting Monty. I heard an angered shriek and pained yelps only seconds later. I groaned, pushing myself back into a sitting position. "When that Growlithe eventually becomes an Arcanine, this is gonna be even _more _painful…"

Just at that moment, Elliot stumbled out from the undergrowth, his motley crew of Grass and Dark Pokemon following him. He was panting heavily and collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, while his Pokemon ambled back into the campsite without a care in the world. They looked like they'd been out on a casual walk and not the "vigorous run" Elliot had boasted about before leaving. I grinned as Jet the Umbreon purred around my feet, casting an unimpressed look in Elliot's direction. I directed Elliot's Vino the Venusaur, Mightyena, Tropius, Cacturne and Roserade towards the campsite and they obediently went. Jet however, returned to his master's side. Giggling, I followed his lead and knelt down next to Elliot.

"How you feeling?" I asked.

"Exhausted…" he breathed out.

I had to laugh. "Maybe that'll teach you for next time,"

"I keep forgetting how energetic they all are…" Elliot panted. "I need to get back into shape!"

I shook my head at him. "Come on, get out of the dirt. We need to get the campsite cleaned up."

"What, you mean you haven't done it already?" he teased.

I aimed a swift punch to his heaving gut and he groaned theatrically as I stood up. "Next time, be a little more gentlemanly then," I said, flouncing off.

Elliot groaned again and pushed himself to his feet. Just as we got into clearing up, Bailey appeared from the undergrowth, looking cheerful as ever, but exhausted. I offered him a smile before giving him a task, which he started at straight away. Our Pokemon were enthusiastic to help, and the campsite was a hive of activity as we got the area cleared and the sleeping bags set out.

Finally, just as everything was finished, Scott strolled carelessly into the campsite. Like Bailey, his Pokemon weren't with him. He took a seat on a nearby log and stared aimlessly into the crackling fire. For a moment, I debated going to sit down next to him and at least _attempting _to engage the fourteen year old in polite conversation, but a terrified shriek from Nikki's direction caught my attention instead. I whipped my head around to see her Magby clinging excitedly to her head, fistfuls of her soft black hair in his hands, tugging on it enthusiastically.

"Nikki!" I cried, quickly getting to my feet and disentangling the hyperactive Magby from the locks of Nikki's hair. Magby squealed with delight, like the whole thing was a game, blew a thick puff of smoke in my face and took off.

"I think Magby needs more training…" Nikki said sheepishly by way of apology.

I laughed. "He's just high-spirited,"

Nikki let out a sigh. "I don't get it… he's still like a baby in so many ways. I mean, he'll listen to me in contests and when it suits him, but not any other time. And it's not like he's not been in battles either… I honestly would have thought he'd have evolved by now."

"He'll evolve when it suits him," I offered her a smile.

Nikki let out a groan. "That better be soon!"

I grinned as Nikki took off after her Magby who was now cheerfully blowing fire at the giant paws of Vino the Venusaur. The big dopey Venusaur was either too lazy or too oblivious to swat the little annoyance away and stood there, barely moving its paws as the thin streams of fire cascaded around his feet.

"Don't worry," Elliot called cheerfully, not even moving to assist his Pokemon. "It'll take a lot more than those itty-bitty flames to do any damage to Vino."

"That's not the point!" A stressed Nikki cried out as she forcibly dragged her cheerful Magby away from the giant Venusaur.

I laughed delightedly. "Maybe Nikki should challenge Azalea Gym with Magby. He'd make toast out of all those bugs," I remarked to Jasmine, who had just come to stand by me.

"Hmm," she murmured noncommittally. I could tell she wasn't really listening, and true to my beliefs, she walked off in another direction almost immediately after I spoke. I let out an angry sigh and looked for someone else to talk to. Nikki was apologising profusely to Elliot and Jasmine was sitting in a corner, obviously not in the mood to talk.

"Amph?"

I looked down at Meloi who was tugging at my hand with her tiny paw. "Amph?" she said, cocking her head to the side, sounding concerned.

"Everything's fine," I grinned. Even after all this time, it still amazed me that Meloi always seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. "Go off and play with the other Pokemon."

She shot me a disgusted look at the word "play" but ambled off obediently nonetheless. After she left, I turned to look at Scott and was quite shocked to see Bailey sitting down next to him. Bailey was grinning, happily engaged in mostly one-sided conversation with the fourteen year old. I found myself blinking in surprise. When I thought about it though, this wasn't the first time I had seen Scott and Bailey together. Was I really seeing this? Bailey, the naïve, cheerful, amateur Pokemon trainer and Scott, the experienced, cold and curt trainer were forming some kind of _friendship_?

Unbelievable really, when you think about it. Up until now, Scott didn't even seem to _like _Bailey. Then again, I wasn't sure that kid liked _anyone_. I'm pretty he saw most people as "to be tolerated" rather than to be liked… But then again, if Bailey had some sort of calming influence over Scott, I wasn't going to complain…

I sat down heavily on the dusty ground; pulling my legs up to my chin, grateful for the thick trousers I was wearing to combat the cold night air. As I sat there, Jasmine crossed the campsite to pick something up from her bag, and for some reason, my head turned to look at Bailey and Scott again.

They had halted in their conversation, had moved a little further away from each other and both had their eyes firmly fixated on something. I followed their gaze and realised they were staring at the same thing.

Well, person.

They were both staring at Jasmine.

And I'm not talking that kind of stare where you're not even aware that you're staring. This was a proper stare. The "I can't take my eyes off you" stare. That kind of… almost… lustful stare.

I'm pretty sure you and I both know the only reason a boy will fixate his gaze so sincerely on a girl… Right?

Could it be possible? Did both of them have a thing for Jasmine? The idea was so ludicrous I almost burst out laughing. Jasmine acted like she couldn't even find the time of day to give to either of them. She made fun of Bailey's appearance any chance she got, and she mocked Scott's youth and bad attitude… When the implications of this suddenly hit me, I felt a little crushed for the two boys. Jasmine was clearly as uninterested as anyone could get in those two… I couldn't help but feel sorry for them both. I made a mental note to have a chat with Scott and Bailey about this whole matter. Perhaps talk to Jasmine as well if my suspicions proved true.

However there wasn't much I could do tonight. It was getting late, and everyone was settling down for bed. So, putting the issue of budding romances between our little group to the back of our mind, and trying to focus more on my strategies for the battle in Azalea gym the following day, I retired to bed.

* * *

><p>We reached Azalea Town the following morning. It was a small, isolated sort of place, nestled at the edge of the Ilex Forest. The Ilex Forest, by the way, had been an absolute <em>nightmare<em> to navigate. I had thought nothing could even _compare _to the difficulties associated with getting through Viridian Forest. Holy hell was I wrong. By the time we were even halfway through we had to resort to using Repels to keep the sheer number of bug Pokemon away. I was glad to get out of there and into the safety of Azalea Town.

I had to admit, I did like Azalea Town. It was right next to Ilex Forest and as a result, the town smelled fresh and green, the scent of crushed leaves and foliage tickling our nostrils the deeper we advanced into town. An old well stood at its outskirts, and we saw many young children playing there.

Another unusual thing about this tiny little town was the over-abundance of Slowpoke. From the well at the town's edge, right to the centre of town and its outskirts, we saw Slowpoke _everywhere. _They walked lazily around town, keeping themselves to themselves, were dragged around eagerly by young children, and their gormless faces stared down at us from everything from statues and sculptures to fliers and posters tacked up all around town.

"This place really likes Slowpokes, don't they?" Bailey asked idly as we crossed the grassy paths heading to the Gym in the distance.

"This town always has," Elliot explained. "They practically worship them. Legend tells…"

I wasn't really interested in what "legend tells" though and I zoned out of what Elliot was trying to explain. Actually, everybody apart from Bailey looked completely disinterested. Even painfully polite Nikki looked like she'd much rather be doing something else. I for one was far more interested in trying to work out a strategy for taking on the next Gym Leader. If I was able to beat Bugsy (which I sincerely hoped considering he was only the second Gym Leader in the Johto League circuit), then I would already have two out of the four badges I needed before I got to challenge Dad.

Strangely enough, some part of me was still puzzling over the reasons I had for taking Dad's challenge in the first place. Had I really done it in the hope of making peace with him? Had I done it for adventure? A chance to relive my glory days? Was it some childish, repressed part of me still yearning for the approval I could only gain by beating him in a battle? Or could it be that I was only doing it to prove that I wasn't scared of him anymore…?

"Sienna!"

I gave a start when someone called my name. Nikki was waving her hand in front of my face worriedly and as I came back into the present, I saw everyone else had disappeared, presumably into the Pokemon Mart we were now standing in front of.

"Oh sorry," I apologised. "I guess I must have zoned out,"

Nikki smiled weakly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, but it was an effort. "I just…have a lot on my mind."

"Your Dad?"

"And everything else," I said with a heavy sigh. "I keep questioning _why _I'm doing this. And I guess I'm worried about what's going to happen when I eventually _do_challenge him." I paused, another worry pushing itself to the front of my mind. I exhaled deeply, crossing my arms. "And all this stuff with Jasmine isn't really helping either."

"I noticed that!" Nikki said animatedly. "She's really—! Well I dunno _exactly _what's going on, but… don't you think she's acting out quite a bit…? Especially towards poor Bailey. I'm not sure she likes him very much…"

"With Jasmine, anything's possible," I said darkly, letting out a sigh. "I don't know if she hates Bailey or whatever… but I just kind of wish she would be a little more civil to him. I mean, he's a nice guy and everything…"

"He is!" Nikki cried enthusiastically.

I grinned. "Watch it, you're not a single lady any more, Miss Harper."

Nikki giggled delightedly. "I know, I know…"

I let out a long sigh, cutting across Nikki before she started on the topic of her beloved boyfriend Christian. "So yeah, anyway… I'm thinking that maybe I'll have a word with Jasmine sometime. Privately, you know? Find out what's going on in that head of hers…"

Nikki nodded. "That might be a good idea…"

I flashed her a smile, and the two of us engaged in some light-hearted conversation while we waited for the others to come out with their supplies. They eventually decided to grace us with their presence almost quarter of an hour later. Bailey was insufferably excited, showing off a shiny new badge case in which he proudly displayed his Plain Badge, and a new TM case. Minus any actual _TMs, _mind you. Everybody else just seemed to have stocked up on Potions and Revives, plus a couple of Repels in case we had to venture into Ilex Forest. Elliot handed me a couple of Super Potions to replenish my own stock, as well as a postcard with a Starmie on it to send home to my mum. As I stored away my gifts from Elliot, I noticed Jasmine trying to conceal a brand new pack of ten Pokeballs in the depths of her rucksack. I raised my eyebrows. She'd already caught a new Hoothoot and Heracross... exactly how many new Pokemon was she planning to capture?

"Everybody ready?" Elliot surveyed the group.

A resounding "yes" issued from everyone.

"Then, let's get to the Gym."

As we started to walk, a wave of determination coursed through my body, making me tingly with anticipation. I could already see the tip of the Gym in the distance and my hands clenched of their own accord. I needed that second Gym Badge. And against Bugsy, only the second gym leader in the Johto league circuit, I was feeling quietly confident, even though I wouldn't admit it. I'd taken on powerful gym leaders like Misty, Wallace and Whitney and _won. _Surely a Gym full of weak Bug types couldn't give me _that _much trouble.

A smile touched on my face.

"_Bugsy __of __Azalea __Town__… __Sienna __Volbeda __is __coming __for __your __badge!__" _

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hey guys! I have another update for you. I'm three chapters ahead of posting, so I'm in the middle of writing Chapter 18 as I publish this :)**

**Still a little filler-ish, I know, but I made up for it by giving Nikki, Jazz, their Pokemon and the Spirited Six some much-needed screen time. **

**I swear, next chapter (and the following) is Vs Bugsy :) **

**Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday too, it really meant a lot. **

**The OC tournament is coming up soon too once they all reach Violet City. I've got all the OCs in and I'm really excited about writing the chapters. I'm also really looking forward to writing the proper plot for this story. Hints and foreshadowings should start to appear after Chapter 20. **

**I'm also excited about the Jasmine x Bailey or Jasmine x Scott suggestions... I need shipping names though... Haha!**

**Thanks to all my reviewers: QuestionsxAndxAnswers, KRDiva1, I have a dictionary here (I will try and work in some kind of cooking thing sometime soon), ArchXDeath, Aeroga, Zoeten and TwewyReaperGirl. **

**By the way, Twewy... the difference between pie and tart is that pies have both bottom and top crusts and tarts only have bottom crusts. The pastry is also different :) (Anyone see where Sienna gets her love of baking from...?)**

**Thanks everyone! Please R and R!**


	17. Creepy Crawlies Part I

My newly acquired confidence, much to my surprise, stuck around even as we were shown into the waiting room of Azalea Gym. It was a quiet confidence that purred happily in my chest like a contended Persian. I found myself jittery and excited as I looked down at the Pokeballs around my belt. I tried to calm myself down and be a little more rational. Over-confidence could be a downfall, and my jittery excitement wasn't helping me to come up with a strategy to take on Bugsy. It was strange; no matter how much I tried to force myself to concentrate and think up a strategy, I couldn't do it. Nothing was coming to me. It was a little unnerving, drawing a blank like that. After all, I used to be pretty good at evaluating a potential opponent for weak spots that I could exploit. Not as good as Elliot, or even Nikki who used that kind of thinking in contents, but you know, I was better than most. But to sit there, and think of _nothing_ was strange. Even odder was that even with that worry, my confidence purred away like a fire that refused to be doused.

I tried to rationalize again. Just because I couldn't think of something _now _didn't mean I wouldn't _at __all_. I had thought up strategies against Whitney practically on the spot against that beast of a Miltank of hers and I had won! My confidence soared again. Surely if I had won against Whitney without even resorting to my best fighters, it would be, dare I say it, _easy_to win against Bugsy?

A smile touched on my face. I felt confident, and I'm pretty sure I looked confident now. I looked around to consult my fellow battlers. Jasmine looked almost bored as she lounged on one of the seats, her legs loosely crossed. Yeah, she was definitely not worried about this Gym Battle. All she had to do was use her powerhouse of a Quilava and the whole thing would be over in a matter of minutes. My eyes glanced on Scott, who was standing with his back to the wall, his fingers moving like lightning across the keypad of his phone. The occasional electronic "bleeps" coming from it made me strongly suspect he was playing some kind of game on it. Yeah, he certainly wasn't worried either.

Last but not least, there was Bailey. He was a completely _different _story. He had the look of a man who had just been told he was going to the firing squad in the morning. He had his four Pokeballs strewn out on the bench in front of him, and he was picking through them and muttering under his breath, looked pained.

Just as I was about to get up and go see how he was doing, Nikki got to her feet and sat herself down next to him. "Hey," She said quietly. "How are you doing?"

"Panicking," was all he said.

She frowned a little. "Have you thought up a strategy?"

"No," Bailey said mournfully, dropping his head into his hands. "None of my Pokemon are strong against Bug Types."

"Well, I could help you?" she offered. "I'm pretty good at thinking up strategies. You need to do it a lot for contests," she added hastily when she saw his puzzled look. "You know, exploiting the opponent's weaknesses to score better marks and all that…"

"I don't know if it'll help…" Bailey said despondently with a sigh. Nikki caught my eye from across the room and I grimaced at her. It was definitely unusual to see the almost criminally happy Bailey so down. Granted, we had only known him for barely even a week, but his cheerful, jolly demeanour was refreshing amongst the melting pot of personalities we had in our little group.

"Sure it'll help!" Nikki squeaked in her best impression of "upbeat". "Umm… I know! What kind of Pokemon do you have?"

Bailey opened his mouth as if to answer, faltered for a moment, and then snapped his jaw firmly shut. Nikki looked at him worryingly as he stubbornly remained quiet. I sighed. It still seemed that Bailey was reluctant to talk about his Pokemon. I wondered why, especially when he revealed them to _me_. Was he embarrassed? Insecure? The whole thing was just a little strange to me.

Elliot happened to be listening and cut in. "Hey, Bailey, listen. I'll give you a bit of advice, okay? You don't always have to rely on using type advantages to win a battle. If Pokemon are well trained enough and the trainer is smart enough to compensate for the weaknesses, it's completely possible for… I don't know, a Water type to win against Grass type…or for a Rock type to lose to an Electric type! Okay?"

Bailey didn't look convinced.

"Think about it," Elliot sat down next to him. "You did in Goldenrod. You beat Whitney's Normal type Pokemon without so much as a type advantage in sight. And if you want an example of trainers able to work around their Pokemon's weaknesses, look at me! I'm the perfect example! My team's been made up _solely_of Grass and Dark Pokemon since I was ten years old, and I've never let that hold me back."

"I know, but still…" Bailey said mournfully.

"Don't worry!" Nikki tried a different tactic. "You just have to do your best! That's all anyone can ever ask of you anyway."

Bailey cast Nikki a woeful expression and she deflated. It was clearly the wrong thing to say. I couldn't help but feel sorry for poor Nikki. She loved helping people almost to an obsessive level. She was always trying to make people feel better. Only problem was, when her techniques didn't work or people just simply didn't want to know, Nikki often took this as a personal insult and slipped into a depression.

While Nikki wrestled with trying to inspire Bailey, they gave us the call to go through into the battling room. I cast final probing glances in everyone's direction. Yep, Jasmine and Scott looked totally at ease at the thought of going into the battle. It was only Bailey who seemed to be literally quivering in fear. Still feeling inexplicably confident, I followed the gym proctor through into the battlefield.

I felt like I had stepped inside some glorified over-sized greenhouse as we entered the Gym battling room. I squeaked inadvertently as the high pitched, screeching cries of bug Pokemon reached my ears. Elliot glanced at me worriedly, before swooping in to my side and taking my hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. Squinting in the dim light, I tried to make out any sight of the Gym Leader. There was nothing.

"This place is a little creepy…" Nikki murmured as we tentatively walked forward.

At the edge of my peripheral vision, I caught sight of a bunch of Caterpie slowly inching their way up a tree. I squeaked and a violent shudder leapt up my spine. I hated to think what kind of creepy crawly Bug types were hiding in the depths of this over-sized greenhouse. I bit back another shiver. "Let's just get the badges and get out of here, okay?" I hissed, before clearing my voice and shouting out. "Hey! Bugsy! Where are you! We want a battle!"

"Oh? A battle, huh?"

The voice came from nowhere, and no sooner had the voice sounded out, lights came on overhead, momentarily blinding us. I had to bite back a shocked scream, as we all whipped around. My eyes touched on a young man suspended, upside down, from a nearby tree, with a couple of gormless looking Caterpie crawling over his body. He had a big grin on his face, and as he twisted himself around, loosing himself from the tree and landing on the ground, he never stopped smiling.

He was a young looking man, perhaps late teens, early twenties. Like Whitney, he was very youthful in appearance, almost androgynous, even feminine in a way, and had wide rounded dark eyes and a shock of lavender hair brushing past the nape of his neck. As well as wearing what looked like a green explorer's uniform that looked perfect for hacking through jungle terrain, Bugsy held in his hands a large net which he waved from side-to-side aimlessly as he looked us up and down.

"You're _all_ challenging me?" he sounded pleasantly surprised.

Nikki squeaked and backtracked until she was practically backed up against a tree. Elliot took a few slow, deliberate steps backward, leaving myself, Jasmine, Bailey and Scott standing in a line. "Us four are," I put forward.

A childish grin spread across Bugsy's face, and he spread his arms wide. "All right! Then who's first?"

I stopped myself just as I was about to step forward, swallowed and looked from Jasmine to Scott to Bailey. "Guys? Any of you fancy going first?"

"Why?" Jasmine demanded at once.

"Yeah?" A smirk spread across Scott's face. "You scared big ol' Bugsy's gonna beat you?"

Jasmine snorted with laughter, and I could have sworn I saw a look of triumph flicker briefly over Scott's face at her laugh. I frowned. "I was just wondering if someone _else_wanted to go first for a change."

"Not me," Jasmine became serious again at once. "I like to see what I'm up against first,"

My frown deepened. "You know, that's not exactly playing fair, Jazz."

"I know," she said with a grin and a cheeky wink. I let out a sigh, but couldn't quite maintain my frown and it disappeared to be replaced with a smile. As annoying as Jasmine was, she did everything with such good humour that I couldn't stay angry at her.

"Uhh…" a voice to my left piped up. "I'd like to go first,"

I blinked in shock as I realised the speaker was none other than Bailey. "Are you sure?" I questioned him at once. "You were so nervous about challenging this Gym!"

Bailey swallowed, and I saw him visibly try and strengthen his resolve. "Well, there's no point in being afraid, is there?" He cast the smallest of glances at Jasmine.

"Well, if you're sure… I mean, it's not a problem for me to go first if you want to see how Bugsy battles," I appealed.

"No, I…" Bailey faltered for a moment but then nodded firmly. "No, I think I need to do this."

With that, he said nothing more and strode forward to introduce himself to Bugsy. With nothing else to do, Jasmine, Scott and I retreated to the bleachers to sit alongside Nikki and Elliot to wait for the battle to start.

"I don't get it," Jasmine hissed to me as the proctor began to announce the battle. "Why's he challenging him first? I thought he was worried about this Gym battle."

"I think he's trying to prove himself,"

Jasmine frowned, looking confused. "To who?"

I had to stop myself from saying "to you", but I caught it in my mouth and instead managed to squeeze out "to everyone."

I couldn't help but notice Jasmine's face soften, just momentarily. Her mouth parted as if she meant to say something, but then she compensated with a violent grunts. "Let's just… watch the match, okay?"

I nodded, and fixed my attention back to what was unfolding in front of me. Bugsy and Bailey were in the middle of a conversation, and I had to prick up my ears to listen to what they were saying.

"I studied hard to get where I am today!" Bugsy was saying enthusiastically. "I'm the region-wide authority on Bug Pokemon! So, I'm gonna show you _exactly _what I've learned from all this hard work!"

I could see Bailey visibly tense.

"I choose Kakuna!"

The cocoon like Pokemon burst out of the ball and stood stationary, facing Bailey. His hands wavered over the Pokeball collection before stopping at the final one. He grasped it and threw it clumsily into the arena. With a flash of red, a flutter of wings and a high-pitched screech, a tiny purple Zubat appeared.

"A Zubat!" I heard Scott and Jasmine say incredulously.

I let out a long sigh. "Guys, seriously? What do I keep telling you? Don't judge a book by its—"

"Zubat, quickly! Get in with a Wing Attack!"

With a frightening screech, the Zubat descended into a blur of purple and blue and zoomed towards the awaiting Kakuna. My jaw dropped and my heart started to beat in eager anticipation.

Bugsy reacted almost impossibly quickly. "String Shot, now!"

However, matching the Zubat's speed in its entirety, Kakuna forcibly expelled thick gloopy strings from its mouth! The string sped straight through the air, connecting directly with the incoming Zubat.

"No!" I found myself crying out as the Zubat was knocked back, the sticky string binding together its wings. It shrieked as its wings became heavy, and it struggled to stay afloat. Seconds later, the struggle became too difficult and the Zubat plummeted heavily to the ground.

"Zubat!" Bailey cried out in fright.

"Poison Sting, now!"

The Zubat let out a tiny screech as the sharp needle-like stingers barraged its body, but it thankfully didn't seem to take too much damage from the attack. Bailey looked flustered as his grounded Zubat tried to free its wings, but to no avail.

"Not going to make a move?" Bugsy taunted Bailey, a wicked grin on his face.

Bailey couldn't answer him. His eyes looked wide and terrified, flickering from his struggling Zubat to Bugsy's now surprisingly intimidating figure.

"You may as well give up," Bugsy said with an airy shrug. "Your Pokemon can't move. If you don't recall it, you're just asking for it to be attacked!"

Bailey was grimacing, looking pained as he tried to encourage his Pokemon. "Please, Zubat! Shake that stuff off! Come on buddy, you can do it!"

Zubat squeaked pitifully, its wings still hopelessly stuck together.

"Just give up," Bugsy reiterated, crossing his arms.

For some reason, as the exchange between Bailey and Bugsy continued, I found myself sneaking glances at the rest of my friends to see their reactions. To my extreme left, Nikki looked worried, her brows knotted tight together and her hands squeezing the railings of the bleachers. Next to her, Elliot was frowning slightly, his eyes constantly flickering up and down the battlefield. Beside Elliot, Scott seemed to be doing his best impression of a particularly emotionless statue. But Jasmine… there was a look of what anyone could have said was _worry _on her face, and she was biting her lip fiercely. She looked tense. Almost… concerned…

She caught me glancing at her and before I could avert my eyes, she spoke. "He can't give up," she stated as if reciting fact.

"I know." I said with a swift nod. "But… does _he_ know that?"

Jasmine growled. "I really _hate_ seeing people give up! If he was so goddamn set on being the first one to battle Bugsy and "not be afraid", why the hell is he just standing there not doing anything?"

Even as Jasmine said that, the Kakuna sent another ruthless Poison Sting towards the immobile Zubat. This one seemed to be considerably more painful than the previous and Zubat screeched again, looking noticeably weakened. I had a nasty suspicion that poison could have kicked in.

Wait, could Poison types like Zubat even _be _poisoned? I wasn't so sure...

Jasmine's fists were clenching as Bailey still seemed incapable of movement or speech. "Why isn't he _doing _anything?"

"Come on, Zubat, please…" Bailey found his voice again and was begging weakly. "Get up, please! Shake that stuff off, please!"

With every word Bailey was uttering, Jasmine's face was twisting more and more into anger. Eventually, she slammed her fists hard down on her thighs and stood up.

"You idiot!" she screeched. "Zubat doesn't _have _to get up to attack! Think abut its moves! Come on! Don't be a coward!"

My mouth gaping open from Jasmine's uncharacteristic outburst, I turned to look at Bailey, wholly expecting him to get flustered and start to panic. However, his face suddenly contorted into determination and he turned around towards the battlefield once again.

"Zubat! Use Supersonic, now!" his voice rose up to confident heights.

Despite Zubat being bound up, it still managed to open its mouth and set out a high pitched screech. All of a sudden, the Kakuna's eyes dilated and its whole body seemed to go limp.

A grin spread across my face. "Yes!"

Jasmine sat down again, crossing her legs and looking proudly satisfied.

Grunting, Bugsy quickly resumed the battle. "Kakuna! Poison Sting now!"

The Kakuna did nothing.

"Kakuna!" Bugsy cried hysterically. "Do something, Kakuna! Try another Poison Sting!"

The Kakuna still did nothing.

"Yes!" Bailey was cheering at his success. "Good one, Zubat!"

"Damn!" Bugsy cursed. "Come on, Kakuna! Cover that Zubat with String Shot! Don't let it attack any more."

While this time the Kakuna responded to Bugsy's instructions and fired the string shot, it didn't work _exactly_as planned. Still to this day I don't know how it happened, but the Kakuna's String Shot seemed to take on a life of its own and somehow end up wrapped around the Kakuna's body. Wrapped up in a thick web, the Kakuna teetered ominously, overbalanced, and crashed to the ground.

"Kakuna!" Bugsy cried out in horror.

"Yes!" I cheered. "Well done, Bailey!"

No-one looked more surprised at his victory than Bailey. Well, apart from Bugsy perhaps, who recalled the Kakuna stiffly. Bailey looked up at us and cast us a cheery wave, a wide beam adorning his face. Following that, he ran to his Zubat, picked up and cradled the weakened bat for a few moments before recalling it to its Pokeball. With his first Pokemon forfeited, it came down to a final one-on-one battle.

"Well, you may have won the first battle…" Bugsy sounded annoyed as he spoke, completely alien to how I expected the child-like Gym Leader to behave. "But you won't win against this one!"

My heart plummeted to somewhere deep in my stomach as Bugsy revealed his second and final Pokemon. It was a Scyther.

"Oh God…" I heard someone say from down the line. I echoed the sentiment. I wasn't even battling that Scyther and even _I_ was intimidated.

"Okay…" I could hear Bailey muttering to himself softly on the battleground as he pulled out a Pokeball. "I didn't want to do this but… Go, Misdreaveus!"

A resounding "WHAT!" issued from everyone sitting alongside me, while a smile burst onto my face. Misdreaveus was a Ghost type, and it had the advantage of being quick and wily, and, so far as I knew, an ability to negate a lot of Physical attacks.

"Since when did he get a Misdreaveus!" Scott cried out, sounding genuinely shocked, and dare I say it, a little bit jealous?

I frowned, not really understanding what the fuss was about. "What's so special about them?"

"Well Ghost Pokemon by nature are really difficult to find, but Misdreaveus especially!" Elliot explained at once. "They're only really found around the base of Mt Silver, or in protected places like the Safari Zone. _Sometimes _you can find them in old abandoned buildings but chances are pretty slim. Not only that, they only ever come at night too! I just can't think where he'd get one from…"

"I can't believe it really. A Chikorita and a Misdreaveus," Jasmine said from nearby. "Whatever happened to him not being "anything special"…"

"Yeah!" Nikki piped up. "With Pokemon like that, he could be really good someday! I mean, _really _good!"

As everyone started talking over each other, I tried to shut them up. "Guys, we're missing the battle!" I appealed and everyone almost immediately quietened.

The Misdreaveus was floating, almost aimlessly in the air, with a contented look on its face. The Scyther on the other hand was standing perfectly still. I'm not sure if it was even blinking. For a long tense moment, nothing was ordered and nothing was done.

And then, both boys reacted at the same time.

"Misdreaveus, Psywave!"

"Scyther, use Fury Cutter!"

The weak telekinetic waves hit the Scyther first, but the Scyther simply powered through the attack, leaping with ninja-like speed towards the Ghost. However, with a cackling laugh, the Misdreaveus sailed effortlessly out of the way of the attack, and then began circling the giant mantis Pokemon, still screeching with laughter.

"Misdreaveus, cut that out!" Bailey cried, sounding mortified as it started flying up and down, weaving strange, criss-crossing patterns in midair. "Get back to the battle!"

However the Pokemon didn't seem to listen and flew off in a totally different direction than where Bailey was pointing at.

"And people wonder why people don't train Ghost types much…" Elliot deadpanned, letting out a sigh that fluttered his long brown fringe.

I managed a weak smile before refocusing my attentions on the battle. Bailey seemed to be struggling to get the cackling Ghost type to listen to him, and any attempts he made to gain control it met with resistance. The Pokemon also seemed to have a fondness for yanking on Bailey's messy brown hair. As serious as the situation was, we couldn't help but laugh at this, quite frankly, hilariously funny scene. Well, that is until the Misdreaveus soared up towards the stands and started the same thing with us. Jasmine let out a screech as the Misdreaveus lunged for her hair. Without missing a beat, Jasmine in turn lunged for the Misdreaveus and attempt to throttle it, but her hands sailed straight through its translucent body. Cackling, the Pokemon then proceeded to bite down hard on her forearm and scream tauntingly in her face.

As chaos descended in the bleachers, mainly caused by Jasmine diving bodily at the cackling Ghost and missing completely, Bailey ran up to us. He attempted to breathlessly apologise to Jasmine, but she completely disregarded him, still trying to catch the Misdreaveus herself. Bugsy let out a long sigh, cast a look towards Scyther and remarked "This is the worst Gym battle I've had in a _long_time…"

Eventually, after what seemed like a full five minutes of panic, Bugsy snapped and sent Scyther off in the Misdreaveus's direction. The Misdreaveus, comically sitting in a high tree, cackling as Bailey attempted to clamber up after it, had totally forgotten about the other Pokemon, and caught off guard, was a sitting Ducklett for the incoming attack.

The force from the attack knocked the Misdreaveus totally out of the tree. While it was still reeling from the attack, the Scyther was on it again, delivering quick slashes, pushing it further and further towards the ground. Eventually, Scyther finished with a nasty Pursuit, sending the Pokemon spiralling back into midair and crashing to the ground.

"Oh no, Misdreaveus!" Bailey cried out in fright.

"Now, Scyther! Finish this with a final Pursuit!"

As Scyther closed in for the attack, I squeezed my eyes shut. It was over…

I heard the Misdreaveus howl in pain and my heart twisted painfully as I heard Bailey yell out. My eyes opened, and I prayed for some sort of logic-defining miracle that would somehow leave Bailey's Misdreaveus okay, or even the victor somehow, like what I saw happen almost in every crummy episode of Pokemon TV shows ever created. But this wasn't an anime or a kid's show. This was real life.

And Bailey's Misdreaveus was completely out cold.

"Oh, no!" I heard Nikki gasp.

"Bailey!" I cried out.

Bailey looked horrified as he took a few tentative steps forward towards the unconscious figure of his Misdreaveus. I was shocked to see him fall to his knees, his head bowing forward. Without even realising what I was doing I had stood up, but sandwiched in-between Scott and Jasmine, I was rooted to the spot. My mind started to race and my heart thudded against my ribcage. Bailey had lost. He had really _lost_!

As I stood there, and as Bugsy slowly walked up to Bailey, he all of a sudden delved for his Misdreaveus's Pokeball. The unconscious ghost disappeared into the Pokeball in a beam of red, and no sooner had Bailey replaced the Pokeball; he had clambered clumsily to his feet and was running towards the doors of the Gym.

"Bailey!" I cried out again as the Gym doors slammed shut a moment later. I cast urgent looks at everyone else, who were still sitting stationary. "Shouldn't we go _after _him?"

"No," Elliot said solemnly, getting up. "A loss is hard enough to deal with as it is, let alone losing in front of friends and people you admire. He'll be humiliated right now."

"But—!" I protested, waving my hands around helplessly. "Somebody still should…"

Elliot shook his head firmly, but he looked a little sad all the same.

I sighed and let my hands fall to my side. As much as I hated to admit it, Elliot was probably right. Bailey had been desperate to win, anyone could see that. And then to have such a difficult time in the battle, losing control of his Misdreaveus and then losing in such a humiliating way… it must have been crushing. I couldn't imagine how he must have been feeling.

"So!" A voice from the battleground shocked us all back into the present. "Who's next then?"

I was just about to put myself forward for it when Scott stepped up. "I'm next. I'll show you how a _real_Pokemon trainer battles,"

"Hey!" I said, casting an indignant look in Scott's direction. "I thought Bailey was your friend!" I said accusingly, remembering the odd friendship blossoming between the two of them.

"Does it matter?" Scott said threading his way past Elliot and his sister. "Friend or not, he wasn't good enough to win. Just wait, I'll show you how to take down Bug-Boy over there," As he said this, I noticed he wasn't looking at me. He was staring straight at Jasmine.

Before I could say anything else, Scott turned on his heel and descended down the steps towards the battleground. I let out an agitated sigh and collapsed my head into my folded arms. "Boys!" I said viciously.

Jasmine glanced at me a few moments later. "Bailey will be fine." she said, strangely enough, a little nervously.

I frowned at her. "I wasn't talking about him…"

"Oh!" She said, looking a little surprised, and then I blinked in surprise as a hint of a blush reddened her face. She looked away. "N…neither was I."

I blinked, frowning. What the hell was going on with her? "Jasmine, you're not making any sense…"

"You're not making any sense!" she rebuked immediately.

"What?" I spluttered, flummoxed. "Jazz, what the hell?"

"You're not making any sense!" she repeated shrilly.

"Oh Jazz. You're so mature…" I remarked.

"_You__'__re_ so matu—"

We were both distracted when an almighty blast echoed throughout the battle arena. I whipped my head around to see a Pokemon I wasn't familiar with emerging from the billowing clouds of dust and debris and a Spinark lying out cold nearby. I blinked. Scott had literally only been down on the battlefield for two minutes! How on earth could he have knocked out a Pokemon that quickly! I cursed my childish argument with Jasmine; I had totally missed what had just happened.

"Wow, that was a little overkill," Elliot remarked from next to me, still spluttering from the kicked up smoke and dust.

"I missed it," I sighed, slumping down disappointed in my seat. "What even _is _that Pokemon anyway?" I singled it out with my finger as it joined Scott at his side.

"Gabite. A Dragon Pokemon native to Sinnoh," he added when I stared at him blankly.

"Dragon, huh?" I repeated warily as the Pokemon steadied itself, letting out a proud roar in the process. "God… That's pretty impressive…"

"He's exceptionally talented for a fourteen year old…" Elliot admitted, as Bugsy released his next Pokemon, an Ariados and the two Pokemon squared off.

I laughed. "Better watch out, Elliot. That kid's wanted to battle you since he first saw you on the TV two years ago! You know… I'm actually quite surprised he hasn't tried already,"

Elliot shook his head, looking a little perplexed. "I never did understand why he wanted to battle me so much…"

"Hey, he was twelve!" I said with a shrug. "You know what kids are like at that age. He saw you on the television, you knew me, you had a Dragonite—"

"Lance's Dragonite."

I shot him a look. "It's a _Dragonite_, Elliot. Whether it was your brother's Dragonite or your own, it doesn't change the fact it was a _Dragonite_."

Elliot smiled. "I guess… he'll challenge me when he's ready, huh?"

"Uhh…" I said worriedly as Scott's Gabite effortlessly dispatched Bugsy's Ariados with two incredibly fast and incredibly powerful attacks, resulting in a shockingly quick win for the fourteen year old. "If it were me battling that kid, I'd be worried… Look, I mean he's won already!"

We clapped for him as he approached Bugsy, who I was surprised to see was grinning. "You're talented, kid." Bugsy told him as the badge exchanged hands.

Scott muttered a quick thank you before leaving the battle arena and climbing the stairs to the stands next to us. Sitting down heavily, stowing his badge away in his case, he turned to me and Jasmine and said "See. It's not _that _hard."

I growled, his comment irking me. "Don't get cocky, Scott. It's not an attractive trait in a man," I said haughtily before threading my way past him and Jasmine.

"And where are you going?" Jasmine said accusingly.

"To battle Bugsy, where else?" I snapped back, for some reason unable to keep calm.

Bugsy smiled as I stood in front of him. "Another challenger, huh? I've never been so popular in one day. I just hope you're not as much of a wimp as the first guy, or as cocky as the second one."

"I can guarantee you that," I said, pulling out a Pokeball.

"All right!" Bugsy said with a smile.

The Gym Proctor's voice rose up, signalling the beginning of the battle. I tensed, getting ready. Even in spite of Bailey's lose, a burst of confidence returned to me and started purring in my chest. I gripped the Pokeball hard in my hand, tensely waiting.

"This will be a two-on-two battle between challenger Sienna and Gym Leader Bugsy. No items. No substitutions. No time limit. Ready? Go!"

I threw the Pokeball forward with as much strength as I had. I was ready for this battle, and losing was certainly not an option!

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hey everyone :) Another update for you :) Uni's been crazy the past two weeks so I apologise for the wait :)**

**Awesome news though! Spirited reached 38,000 views and is close to reaching 39,000! :) Free Spirits is nearing the 4,000 mark so I'm really excited about it :)**

**I'm gonna be creating a forum for Spirited and Free Spirits soon so you guys can ask me any questions, comments and concerns there :) It'll also be handy for when the OC tournament sparks up so I can get your views and feedback :)**

**Anyway, this chapter's been long enough so thanks to my reviewers WarriorSwift, WildCroconaw, WOWFan123, Aeroga, KRDiva, Sniper Mudkip, ArchXDeath, Manser77, Zoeten, TwewyReaperGirl, and May and Dawn are the best :)**


	18. Creepy Crawlies Part II

Bugsy frowned deeply when he saw an enthusiastic Aurora bounce into the battlefield. "A Water type?" he said scornfully, wrinkling his nose. "Of all the types in the world, you're really gonna challenge me with a Water type?"

"Well, I wasn't gonna challenge you with my Growlithe, was I?" I retorted before I could think. "That'd be too easy, wouldn't it?"

"And you said you weren't cocky," Bugsy remarked before delving for his own Pokeball. "All right, well I'm gonna start with you, Butterfree!"

As the graceful Bug type serenely floated into the battleground, I took a deep breath, trying to calculate a strategy. Annoyingly, nothing came to me apart from the glaringly obvious. Aurora wasn't the fastest, or the most graceful, of Pokemon, and Butterfree had the advantage of flight here. If it got above Aurora, I would be in deep trouble, especially if it used anything like Sleep Powder, Stun Spore or Poison Powder. If I wanted a chance of winning this, I'd have to shoot it out of the air.

"Aurora! Start off with Water Pulse!"

"Dodge, and use Poison Powder!"

I cursed as the Butterfree easily sailed out of the way of the torrent of water Aurora summoned and swooped in, ready to deliver a potentially fatal Poison Powder. Clenching my fists, I called out another order as the Butterfree sent forth the purple dust. "Aurora! Get rid of that Poison Powder! Water Gun!"

The smaller, more concentrated beam of water effortlessly dispatched the floating particles, washing them away. My heart was thudding painfully in my chest already as I watched the Butterfree float almost carelessly away from being harmed by the stream of water. I cursed to myself, feeling the stares of my friends burning my neck. Two attacks in, and I hadn't even so much as _touched _that Butterfree. It was humiliating. I didn't want to look a fool here!

My mind immediately, and yet inexplicably, touched on Bailey. He had been so determined to prove himself even though he was nervous. He wanted to show he was a good trainer. And of course, what had happened? He'd lost his nerve and lost the battle because of it, even _after_ Jasmine had shouted encouragement to him. I had a feeling that that one little thing had upset Bailey even more than just simply losing the battle ever could.

"You're gonna have to be a lot quicker than that to touch my Butterfree!" Bugsy taunted. "Butterfree, get in with a Psybeam!"

My mind immediately went blank. "Uhh…!" Inwardly, I cursed. I had to get Aurora out of harm's way! But how? Mentally, I cycled through her entire moveset before something _finally _came to me. "Aurora! Use Body Slam to get up in the air, now!"

"You'll never touch Butterfree with that! Butterfree, dodge!" Bugsy called, and the Butterfree immediately swerved in its path, avoiding Aurora as she launched herself into the air.

I grit my teeth, but I had never intended to _hit _the Butterfree just avoid the attack. "Quickly Aurora, mid-air Water Gun, now!"

Turned around and facing away from Aurora, the Butterfree was totally oblivious to the incoming attack. It was blasted straight from behind with the Water Gun, and knocked right to the heavily on the ground, sending a violent tremor ricocheting across the entire battlefield. She barked happily and began clapping her fins together ecstatically at the grounded Butterfree.

Anticipation gripped me as I realised the Butterfree was a sitting target. "Quick, before it gets up!" I hollered. "Aurora Beam!"

Aurora took literally seconds to summon the power needed for her signature move. The powerful rainbow hued beam hit the Butterfree dead on, making it squeal in pain.

"Butterfree!" Bugsy cried worriedly. "Get up!"

Every ounce of my body urged to yell out "not so fun now, is it?" to Bugsy, but I managed to bite it back and focus on the battle. The Butterfree was struggling to get up and get airborne and for a moment I felt sorry for the poor helpless creature. But all the same, I had to win this battle. I clenched my fists and called to Aurora.

"Aurora! Finish it with a Body Slam."

It was over. The fragile Butterfree couldn't stand up to the sheer weight behind Aurora's Body Slam and was completely unconscious by the time Aurora rolled her bulk off it. Bugsy let out a cry of defeat before recalling the Butterfree and eyeing me darkly.

"Fine. So you beat Butterfree. But you're not going to beat _this _one!"

I wanted to collapse in a heap when I saw Bugsy's final offering. "Not _another _Heracross!" I wailed in despair as the giant Bug Pokemon buzzed into the arena.

Aurora bellowed loudly in the face of this new challenger, adopting a defensive position, snorting angrily. While Aurora seemed confident with this new Pokemon, my heart plummeted. I had never seen a Heracross in battle. I didn't know what kind of moves this one could unleash. I found myself wishing I had paid more attention to Jasmine when she had gushed about her newly caught Heracross and what moves it had. Not for the first time, I cursed my lack of knowledge. I'd have to play this one safe.

"Heracross, use Horn Attack!"

"Dodge it, Aurora!" I screeched.

Aurora was just able to shift her massive weight to avoid the incoming attack from the Heracross, but no sooner had she turned around; the Heracross was on her again! Unable to move fast enough, the Heracross's powerful horn collided with Aurora, goring her viciously! She squealed as she was knocked back, but she regained herself by shooting a Water Pulse at the Heracross. This one met its mark as the Heracross regained itself after the horn attack, knocking the giant Bug Pokemon clean across the battleground until it collided with a tree.

"Nice one, Aurora!" I cheered.

She clapped her fins together eagerly, barking happily.

"Try an Ice Ball, now!"

But Bugsy got in with an order as soon as I did. "Heracross! Endure!"

I frowned as Aurora began readying the first blast of ice. "_What the hell is Endure?_"

The Heracross stood its ground firmly, not even looking intimidated as Aurora blasted out the first Ice Ball attack. My heart leapt to my mouth as the first chunk of ice hurtled in the Heracross's direction. The giant Bug wasn't moving! What kind of Pokemon stood still as if it was _waiting _for an attack?

And then, right in front of my eyes, the Heracross crossed its arms across its face and body, as if protecting itself. The chunk of ice hit the Heracross's crossed arms and shattered into a million pieces on impact! Shards of ice crumbled uselessly to the floor and my mouth hung open as the Heracross negated every single subsequent Ice Ball in the same manner, using its arms like a shield.

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Bugsy cheered. "All right, Heracross! Win this with a Brick Break!"

"_That's a Fighting Type move_!" I thought rapidly. "_I didn't know Heracross was a Fighting type too! Man, I'm gonna start relying more on that Pokedex of mine! The hell with looking like an idiot, I'd rather know what I'm up against!" _I bit my lip hard, trying to focus and come up with something quick. "Aurora! Try a Powder Snow!"

The Powder Snow as it turns out was a good move. Although it wasn't particularly _powerful,_ the chilly blast of air engulfed the Heracross, stopping it right in its tracks, leaving the Pokemon shaking and shivering with the cold. I had _hoped _the Powder Snow would have frozen the Heracross, leaving it immobile and unable to battle, but no. This idiot-proof strategy hadn't come through for me this time. I gritted my teeth fiercely. I was running out of ideas! Aurora was too slow to evade the Heracross's movements, and I wasn't allowed to substitute in this battle. I had to think of something fast!

Bugsy was looking annoyed too. His hands were clenched tightly around the net he was holding, and his face was twisted. For a moment both Pokemon eyed each other, remaining stock still, and I hardly dared breathe as I tried to come up with a quick, effective strategy.

Bugsy was quicker, stepping in with a move before I could even plan out a single thing. "Heracross, Take Down!"

In my panic, I blundered out a command without even thinking. "Water Gun!"

Obviously, it didn't work out the way I wanted it to. The Heracross, taking advantage of its wings, easily avoided the Water Gun and collided forcefully with Aurora, taking her by surprise. She squealed, her head rocking back, and winded from the force, was incapable of moving.

"Now, Heracross! Close Combat!"

The very sound of that command terrified me, and I screamed out "No!" before I realised what was going on. Heracross drew in close to Aurora, and began pummelling her from all sides, simply becoming a rapidly-moving blur, delivering swift attacks to every bit of her. It felt like it went on for hours, just Heracross delivering blow after blow after blow onto Aurora's body. There was no chance for her to escape, and she had no choice but to take every hit. My heart sunk a little more with each hit, her pained screeches intensifying the longer that torture went on.

Eventually, the Heracross stopped and pulled away, retreating to a safer spot further down the battlefield. It was panting heavily and fell to one knee, looking too. She was covered in bloody scrapes and emerging bruises and could barely shuffle forward on her flippers. Finally, after a few seconds, her flippers gave way and she collapsed to the ground, whining softly.

"Aurora…?" I called worriedly.

She groaned weakly, trying to summon up enough strength to get up. She couldn't manage it, her flippers buckling and trembling and eventually crashing to the ground again. "Aurora, stop!" I cried, breaking away from my place at the battlefield. I ran to her side, dropping down on my knees. I stroked her slowly, feeling Bugsy's probing eyes over me. I tried to ignore it and focus on my Pokemon instead. "Are you okay, Aurora?" I pressed her, starting to get worried as her eyes drooped.

She bellowed mournfully at me, and I put my hand on her massive bulk. "I'm so sorry, Aurora." I found myself strangely choked up, the sight of my Pokemon in such an injured state making me well up with tears. A strange, constricting feeling formed in my chest and I struggled to keep myself composed. "I… I keep forgetting some of you guys haven't fought this hard in a _long _time," I said, feeling guilt wash over me in waves.

"_I'm so stupid…_" I thought thickly as a thought occurred to me. This was the first battle I had used Aurora in since almost _two years _ago. What the hell was I thinking using her when I hadn't trained her in so long? In fact, another horrifying thought occurred to me. Aside from that battle alongside Scott (which I had done practically _nothing _in) and the battle against Whitney, I had done _no _training whatsoever! What the hell was I thinking going straight in challenging Gyms like this without proper training beforehand? It wasn't like I'd kept up my training after I got home from Hoenn! I had barely even _looked _at a battlefield, much less battled on one, in that year and a half. And I had just _strolled _into these Gyms expecting to win? My mind started to race. Had my win at Goldenrod Gym simply been a _fluke_? Is that all it was? Scott had even said it himself! I was the only one who had to use two Pokemon to beat Whitney! Scott, Jasmine and even Bailey had beaten her with just one Pokemon!

My heart was thudding hard against my ribcage, and my mind was flickering with hundreds of worrying, frantic thoughts. Had two years of not training somehow _weakened _my Pokemon? No, that couldn't be it… Monty and Cairo had proved to be as tough as ever when I used them in the battle against Whitney… Yes, I had to admit, I hadn't expected Monty to lose, but that could have just been bad luck, right? It had to be! I knew my Pokemon were strong enough to take down Gym Leader Pokemon… So why…?

It hit me hard and my hand flew to my mouth, my throat constricting like I was about to throw up. "_Oh my God, it's me… _I'm _the one standing in the way of the victories. I'm the one who can't give the Pokemon the proper direction to win. I _know _all my Pokemon are tough… after everything they went through two years ago… all that training… all those battles. Pokemon don't lose the battle instinct or become weaker as time goes on! So it must be me! I must not have that battle instinct anymore… not after two years…_"

A memory returned to me. That day on the battlefield. My first time battling against a trained Pokemon. Elliot's Umbreon Jet against my Meloi. Jet's amazing speed and strength coupled with Elliot's skill, expertise and strategic brilliance… I never stood a chance against him back then. And then that moment when Jet was closing in on Meloi… and I couldn't do a thing to stop it. I couldn't come up with a _single _way to get Meloi out of danger. And we had lost because of me.

Now, it was like a horrible, horrible déjà vu and I wanted to burst into tears.

"Hey!" Bugsy's voice cut across my thoughts and I whipped my head up to look at the Gym Leader, standing arms crossed and looking official. "Are you going to release a new Pokemon or what?"

I looked down at my poor Aurora, who looked at me with pleading eyes. In just that moment, I knew exactly what she was trying to communicate to me.

"I don't know…" I muttered to her softly. "I… I don't feel like the trainer I used to be…"

She barked indignantly at me, motioning with her big head towards the battleground, and then nudging me pointedly. I sighed. "Aurora…"

She barked again, this time much louder.

"You're telling me to keep going, aren't you?"

Another bark.

"But what if I lose again? What if because of _me_, we lose and another of our friends gets hurt?" I asked her bitterly, wishing I could just bury my face in her soft blubber.

A string of barks, each one hard, encouraging and determined. I knew what she was trying to say to me. 'Get a grip, get out there and do your best.' I wasn't so sure I could, though. Had I really lost all the skills I used to have as a trainer? I felt so sure that I had…

But I couldn't just stop right now, could I? Didn't I at least owe it to my Pokemon to carry on and keep fighting? So, trying to keep a hold on my emotions, I recalled Aurora to her Pokeball, praising her good work as she disappeared. For a moment, I dilly-dallied over what Pokemon to use next. I still didn't want to use Kiba. Using a Fire type would give me too much of an advantage, and I didn't want to be able to win just because I had a Pokemon with a type advantage. So this left me Meloi, Monty, Indigo and Cairo.

I made my decision. At this point I wasn't particularly bothered about any advantage using my starter Pokemon may or may not give me. I just wanted to win and get this battle over with, cement the idea that I was at least _vaguely _capable of winning a battle, and immediately begin trying to work out a plan for more intensive training.

"Meloi, let's go!"

"Amp-Ampharos!

Trying to at least _attempt _to strategise despite a complete and utter mind blank, I cast an eye over the Heracross. It was standing on both feet now, but panting heavily. I assumed it was fatigued, probably exhausted from having to execute Close Combat. A tiny spark of excitement burst somewhere in the back of my head. I had a chance here!

"Meloi, start out with Thunderpunch!"

"Dodge it, Heracross!"

The Heracross dodged, but only just. Meloi landed on her stubby feet, looking angry. My mind started to race. Thunderpunch would get Meloi just close enough to the Heracross, but fatigued or not, it could still escape her. It had still had energy to move, and that meant it was still dangerous. I had to slow it down.

Or stop it altogether.

"Meloi, go in for another Thunderpunch!"

She cast me a confused look, but obeyed me all the same. She lunged for the Heracross, balling her fist, electricity sparking and crackling furiously. Of course, the Heracross, with the nimble actions and reaction speed of a ninja effortlessly jumped to avoid it.

"Thunder Wave!" I screamed at once.

It was easy for Meloi to expel the residual electrical energy built up from her Thunderpunch, and the weak electricity hit the Heracross dead on. The Heracross squeaked in surprise as the weak current paralysed it.

"Hera? Hera!" the Pokemon cried, sounding shocked, only its eyes capable of movement.

"Meloi, come on! Try one last Thunderpunch!"

With nowhere to move, the Heracross took the full brunt of the attack. However, it still stood, albeit crackling and slightly singed from the attack, and wavering slightly. I cursed as Meloi retreated a few steps, cocking her head to one side and shouting angrily

"Heracross! Can you move!" Bugsy yelled, sounding suddenly unnerved.

"Hera!" It croaked, its voice strained and crackling.

Not wanting to chance the paralysis wearing off, I took my opportunity. Meloi was panting, looking exhausted from utilizing so much electrical energy, so I decided to try a different move. "Meloi, finish it with a Tackle attack!"

"Amp!" she cried, breaking into a furious run.

The physical attack completely knocked over the immobile Heracross. The Pokemon couldn't withstand the attack and fainted as soon as it hit the ground. Meloi cheered, practically dancing up and down, pumping her tiny fists, shocks of electricity fizzing around her. I straightened up, letting out a long exhale. My whole body was trembling and both my hearing and sight were fuzzy, fading in and out. I had to keep myself focused, and I couldn't quite believe what had just happened. I had won… Somehow.

Bugsy recalled the unconscious Heracross and then looked across at me, a faint hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. My breath was still coming in sharp, ragged gasps now, and I was scared I was going to start hyperventilating. I could hear cheering coming from the stands and the gym proctor was announcing the end of the battle, but I didn't care. I honestly didn't care. My mind was far too preoccupied to care.

A few seconds later, Bugsy had broken away from the end of the battlefield and was approaching me. He walked past my dancing Ampharos without even a backwards glance and held out his hand. In his palm lay a small circular badge, mostly red with a black stripe and a few black spots peppered on the brilliant red. It kind of reminded me of the back of a Ledyba.

"Here, the Hive Badge." He said, pressing it into my palm. "As proof of your win here."

"Thank you," I said, stowing the badge in the pocket of my jeans. "For the battle… and…" I lowered my voice a little, suddenly worried that the others would overhear me. "…for showing me that I still need to improve."

"All trainers are constantly striving to improve," Bugsy said as if it was nothing, folding his arms and smiling lightly.

"I know," I said with a sigh. "I just realised that I'm not as good a trainer as I thought. My Pokemon are strong, but I'm not giving them the right direction. Maybe I need more training before I go rushing headlong into my next Gym Battle."

Bugsy nodded his approval, thanked me once again for the battle, before turning towards the stands and shouting out for the next challenger to come down. I turned on my heel, the weight of the badge burning against my thigh and made to walk towards the exit of the gym.

But no sooner had I taken three steps in the direction of the Gym doors, Elliot was shouting down on me, sounding worried. "Sienna? Where are you going?"

I hesitated. "Out for some fresh air… I need to clear my head…"

"Sienna!" I could hear people still protesting as I slammed the Gym doors behind me and entered the cold, yet fragrant air. It was sobering, I could feel my head instantly clearing and I found myself needing to sit down, almost overcome by another wave of emotion. My head was spinning. All this time I thought I had retained the skills I used to have… So why was it I was struggling with Gym battles that everyone else (with the exception of Bailey for this one) was coursing through easily?

I collapsed my head in my hands and sighed deeply. I tried to remind myself that I _had _won here. I'd won my second Johto League badge. I was halfway through my goal of attaining the badges to get that battle with my Dad. The chance to finally gain his approval and recognition as a trainer.

Statistically, I'd achieved so much.

But this didn't feel like a win one little bit.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Back with another update, guys :) Hope you enjoy the conclusion to the Azalea Gym battles :)**

**Next couple of chapters are fairly unimportant in the story advancement, but there'll be a few things regarding Jasmine and Bailey you won't want to miss if you're a fan of that shipping. **

**Then the characters are on their way to Violet City to compete in a battle tournament! **

**And someone catches a new Pokemon! Who will it be?**

**Oh, another thing. Check out my new story "Master's Degree" which follows the story of university student Ivy McKenzie and her best friend Jack Hartman, as she fails a module in Saffron University and has no choice but to embark on a three month Pokemon journey to attain enough academic credits to return to sit her degree :)**

**Thanks to my reviewers: Sniper Mudkip, Sunbean, WarriorSwfit, WOWFan123, KRDiva1, TwewyReaperGirl, Manser77 and Zoeten :D**


	19. Silver Linings

"Sienna?"

In the midst of my recent onslaught of depression, a voice permeated my hazy, troubled thoughts and I snapped my head upwards at the offending sound. I blinked in the watery light of the sun and I was surprised when my eyes fell on Bailey. He was standing only a few feet away, had a lemonade can in one hand, and a large white paper bag in the other.

"Bailey?" I blurted out stupidly.

I immediately scanned his face for signs of any upset from his loss, but there was none. His face was instead twisted in confusion, which then immediately turned to concerned.

"What's wrong?" he sounded worried as he sat down heavily next to me. A look of horror passed over his face. "Oh no… you didn't lose too, did you?"

"N—no…" I said guiltily. I hesitated before I whispered "But… I still think I _ought _to have…"

Bailey frowned at my statement. However he stayed quiet, taking a long drink of lemonade. He set the can down and next thing I knew he was rummaging around in the bag he was holding. With the air of a magician pulling a rabbit from his hat, he produced a small white box with an ornate pattern stamped on in the middle of the top. He opened up the box and offered it to me. Inside was a collection of small assorted cakes. Blinking in surprise, I looked at him, my eyebrows raising a little. Sheepishly, he grinned.

"I eat when I'm upset," he said with a short chuckle.

"Not the only one," I said with a sigh before helping myself to a strawberry tart.

Bailey picked out a small cupcake and nonchalantly started to lick he butter icing from it. "So… why do you think you ought to have lost?"

Without even thinking, my mouth opened and words spilled out without my consent. "I've lost it!"

Bailey frowned, taking a bite from the cupcake. "Lost what?"

"Lost… _it._" I flapped. "You know, that _thing, _that instinct for battle that all trainers have. I can't…! I mean, I completely lost my head in that battle. My Pokemon are strong, but… we keep losing when I know we shouldn't be!"

"But you've won both your Gym Battles…" Bailey sounded confused.

"With difficulty!" I said with a harassed sigh and taking a savage bite from my strawberry tart. "When I was at my peak… my Pokemon took down Misty of Cerulean City _and _Wallace of Sootopolis City. Wallace is the _final _Gym Leader before the Elite Four in Hoenn, yet I beat him! We took down Team Quantum thugs, we survived out on our own for months, we _trained _for months… I know my Pokemon are strong! Strong enough that they should have been able to easily defeat the _second _and _third _Gym Leaders in Johto. I mean, you, Scott and Jasmine wiped the _floor _with Whitney. And Scott took on Bugsy like he was nothing. And I… I lost my nerve battling Bugsy. I felt like I was back as a rookie trainer!"

Bailey was listening to me intently as I squeezed the foil casing of my partially eaten strawberry tart. "I mean, it's not like I _didn__'__t _struggle back when I first became a trainer. It was like everyone had this in-built _thing_, like a manual or a guidebook that let them know exactly how to battle Pokemon without even trying! I don't know what happened to _my _copy…"

Bailey made a sympathetic noise as I shoved the last bite of my strawberry tart into my mouth, and swallowed it down. "I knew the dangers of running straight into battles after almost two years of not training. Like I was worried about it at first but after a little while I just kind of… forgot about it. And then when I was battling Bugsy it just… it just _occurred _to me. God, Bailey…" I felt the threat of tears cling to my eyes. "I just… I've lost it…! Yeah, I managed to win against Bugsy and Whitney, but that's down to the strength of my Pokemon! Not because of anything _I _did! I'm not going to win against stronger Gym Leaders like this… Dammit, why am I so _stupid_?"

"Hmm…" Bailey said slowly, looking up at the cloudy April sky. "Well, so far as I can see there's only one solution to this…"

"What…?" I asked him slowly.

"Eat more cake," he grinned, passing me another strawberry tart.

I had to laugh as I accepted the cake. "You're a man after my own heart," I said, slowly licking the cream from it, savouring its sweet, and oddly calming, vanilla taste.

"Don't let Elliot hear you say that," he said with a grin, swallowing the last of his cupcake. "No, but seriously. There is a solution to this."

I frowned. "What?"

"Easy. Just train,"

"That _did _occur to me," I said with a sigh. "But what use is training without someone to train _against_? I'm not gonna learn without someone to train against."

"Elliot? Jasmine? Nikki? Even Scott?" Bailey prompted.

"Yeah, I know, but… Oh God, this is embarrassing…" I said, covering my face with my free hand. "I don't really want them to know I'm having trouble with battling. And besides!" I said with a hefty sigh. "I know Jasmine and Nikki and Elliot's battling styles too well. It's not a challenge. I won't learn anything."

"Well, what about Scott? He's a tough trainer. And I'm sure you've never battled him before?"

"Scott!" I said with a short laugh. "He'd never agree to it. I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me. Actually, I'm pretty sure he doesn't like anyone."

"That's not true," Bailey said, but the tone of his voice indicated he didn't even believe what he was saying.

"It is true," I said with a heavy sigh. "So… I don't know what to do."

There was silence for a few moments as the two of us continued eating cake. I crinkled the foil casings in my hands for a while, breathing heavily, my eyes firmly on the grey pavement. Then all of a sudden Bailey spoke again. "Battle me."

"What?"

"No, not right _now_!" he remedied hastily, waving his hands around. "I mean, once we've all rested and gotten your Pokemon healed, maybe _then. _Don't you think it'll do us both some good? I mean, I lost against Bugsy. I need to get my Pokemon stronger and you need to…" he paused. "Heh, what is it you need to do again?"

I sighed. "Learn how to read battles."

Bailey looked flummoxed. "But you had a really good strategy against Whitney's Miltank, don't you remember?"

"That was one time. A fluke,"

"Sienna, I think you're over-reacting a little…" Bailey said slowly. "Yeah sure, you may be a little rusty, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. You can still think up strategies, you can still react to something that happens straight away."

I made a non-committal noise. "I just don't think I'm a good trainer anymore."

"I disagree. You were really awesome in your battle with Whitney. The strategy you thought up with your Girafarig was really good!"

"Then how come it took me two Pokemon to beat her and everyone else, _including __you_, beat her with one Pokemon?"

Bailey looked flummoxed again. "Well gee, Sienna, I don't know…"

"That's just it. I just need to get better at battling," I reiterated firmly. "I should have been battling and training ever since I came to Johto. But I haven't. And now I'm really paying for it…"

"Sienna, I still don't think you have a problem…" Bailey said with a long sigh. "You won against Whitney _and _Bugsy. Sure you had a little difficulty and you aren't as good as you were… what? Two years ago? That's to be _expected_. Don't beat yourself up about it. It… it's like riding a bike. You don't forget how to do it; you just start out a little wobbly at first when you try again after a while."

"Hmm…" I grumbled.

"Yes, maybe not training while you've been in Johto was a bad idea." Bailey said with a laugh. "And maybe charging in to Gyms without really training was a bad idea too. But you're still able to win! That's the important thing! The only advice I can give to you is just to start practicing again. Honestly, that's the only way to improve, and improve _properly_."

I let out a sigh, Bailey's words resonating with me deeply. "You know what, Bailey? You're right. You're absolutely right."

He laughed, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Well gee…"

"Honestly," I said, turning my gaze on him and feeling a small smile tug at my lips. "Where did you learn to give such good advice?"

He shrugged. "I don't know really. Growing up, you get a lot of people talking and not many listening. When you're a listener in among all the talkers, you hear a lot of problems. And when you hear a lot of problems, somewhere along the line, you tend to get good at giving advice,"

I frowned. "But… doesn't it suck listening to everyone else's problems all the time? Does anyone ever make the time to listen to _your _problems?"

Bailey shrugged airily. "I don't really have problems…"

"Everyone has problems, Bailey."

"Well yeah, but… we'd do well to listen more to that boyfriend of yours. "Always look on the bright side of life" and all that, right? I mean, it could be a lot worse, eh?"

I sighed, knowing he was right. "I guess so…"

Bailey smiled. "Like take this situation for example. Sure, I lost against Bugsy. But it showed me what I still have to learn."

I shook my head, finding myself amazed at this guy. "I don't know how you can stay so cheery, Bailey." I said, running a hand through my hair.

"Practice," he said deftly.

I blinked, ready to challenge him on this when I heard someone hollering my name. As I stood up, a dark haired blur collided with me. "Nikki?" I gasped in surprise as she looked up at me, her dark eyes wide with panic.

"I was worrying about you!" she cried, her hands tight around my wrists. "And you too, Bailey." She glanced at Bailey momentarily before turning her attention back on me. "Why did you both run out like that?"

"Sorry Nikki," I apologised as sincerely as I could.

"Yeah, sorry…" Bailey looked a little sheepish.

Desperate to get the conversation changed and avoid any type of questions on why I ran out of the Gym, I quickly tried a different tactic. "Uhh… Nikki? Aren't you supposed to be in the Gym? For Jasmine's battle?"

"Oh," Nikki's face immediately softened. "It…it's over…"

"Already?" I gasped, completely surprised. "Wow. Jazz must have beaten Bugsy even quicker than Scott did, huh?"

Nikki looked uncomfortable. "Umm…"

"Wow, she really is a great trainer!" Bailey cried animatedly, eyes shining.

"But the thing about that is…"

"She probably used her Quilava though, that'd be an unfair advantage…" I sighed, crossing my arms.

"Guys, you're not—"

"Even still, that's pretty awesome." Bailey grinned.

"You don't understa—"

"She's a crafty little so-and-so that Jazz! She always pretends that she's a worse trainer than she is. I bet she took them out with one move!" I laughed.

"Jasmine didn't—"

"Maybe we should be taking lessons from _her_, Sienna!"

And then, all of a sudden, Nikki's voice blasted to a volume I had never heard her achieve before. "JASMINE LOST!"

My mouth snapped shut and I turned to look at Nikki. I tried to croak out something, but I was that shocked that nothing came out.

Bailey however was able to respond to that shocking news quicker than I did. "She… she _what_?" he gasped, looking horrified.

"How could she lose?" I demanded, finding my voice at last. "Jasmine's team is practically _ideal _for taking on Bugsy. She has a Quilava for goodness sake!"

"She didn't _use _Quilava."

I stopped. "She… she didn't?"

Nikki shook her head.

Flummoxed, all I could do was croak hoarsely again. My mind started racing. Jasmine must have had a reason not to use her best Pokemon against Bugsy. Perhaps for the same reason I didn't use Kiba? Maybe she didn't want to give herself too much of an advantage? But even without Sulphur, she had three other well-trained Pokemon she could have easily utilized to win. "Well… what about Heather?" I asked at once. "I know it's not a _brilliant _advantage, but Heather's well trained!"

"She didn't use Heather either…"

"Skittle, then. Surely!"

Nikki shook her head slowly.

"She… she didn't use Mizu, did she?" I said, my heart sinking.

"No. She didn't. She used Albus and Honey."

"Her _new_ Pokemon!" I gasped.

"Yeah…"

"Why?" I demanded. "Jasmine knows better than to use Pokemon she's _just _caught in a Gym Battle! I mean, I've never even seen her battle with the Hoothoot and the Heracross! What was she _thinking_?"

"I… I don't know…" Nikki said softly.

"How did she take the loss…?" Bailey inquired, looking crushed.

Nikki looked at us in a confused manner. "She took it surprisingly… _well._ She just recalled her Pokemon and left the battlefield. She didn't shout or get angry, you know, like Jasmine does," she flashed me a knowing smile.

"Where is she now?"

"Everyone's in Bugsy's Gym room, talking about something. They should be out soon, but I thought I should come out and find you two…"

I let out a long sigh, putting my head in my hands. "I can't believe Jasmine _lost_…"

"Me neither…" Nikki looked upset.

"Hey, maybe…maybe it's not _all _bad!" Remembering what Bailey had told me earlier, I tried to focus on the bright side of things. "I'm sure both Jasmine _and _Bailey can just… challenge the Gym again, right?"

"Oh yeah!" Nikki brightened up almost immediately. "I forgot about that! I'm sure you can just challenge him again, right, Bailey?"

"Well…" Bailey looked a little sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well Jasmine can if she wants. But I won't."

"Why?" I pressed him immediately.

"A loss is a loss," Bailey said slowly. "I'm not going to win against Bugsy just because I try again and hope real hard. Maybe it was cos I was fighting Bug types, maybe it's because my Pokemon weren't strong enough yet, whatever the reason, I still lost. I need to take some time and train them up some more."

"But aren't you worried if that you can't beat the second Gym Leader in the circuit you won't beat the others?" Nikki inquired softly.

"Yeah, the thought did cross my mind!" Bailey said with a cheerful laugh. "But I think I'll be okay as long as I train up some more. I know there's a difference between me taking on Bugsy again, and Jasmine taking on Bugsy again. Jasmine lost cos she used her newest and weakest Pokemon. _I_ lost even though I tried my hardest. So I know I have to try even harder,"

I let out a long sigh. "Bailey…"

I was about to say something when a sharp "Hey!" cut through my thoughts. We all turned around and saw Bugsy walking towards us, tailed by Scott, Elliot and Jasmine.

"Jazz!" I said at once without meaning to.

She raised her eyebrows at me, which I knew was her way of telling me to shut up and not to pursue the obvious issue, but I didn't care. I looked helplessly at Bugsy and then back at her. "Aren't you going to challenge Bugsy again?"

Jasmine grimaced, shooting Nikki a filthy look. "Well I see Nikki filled you in quite nicely."

Nikki chuckled nervously.

"Well, aren't you?" Bailey asked at once, before I could.

"No, I won't be challenging Bugsy again."

"What?" I shrieked. "Why not? You could beat him easily if you just used Sulphur!"

"What's the point in that?" Jasmine said, crossing her arms. "That would be an easy win."

Bugsy shot Jasmine an insulted look.

"I wanted to test out Albus and Honey." Jasmine continued, completely oblivious to Bugsy's distaste for her previous comment. "I _intended _to use them instead of Sulphur and my other Pokemon."

"Why?" I demanded.

"Cos they needed battling experience,"

My mouth hung open. "Jasmine, are you all there in the head? You and I both know that battling Gym Leaders is _not _the way to train up newly caught Pokemon. If you _really _wanted to train them up you could've asked me or anyone else here to battle you!"

Jasmine said nothing.

"Jazz!"

"Like I said, I wanted to use Albus and Honey." Her voice was convincing enough, but she wouldn't meet my gaze, and her face was twisted in a frown.

"Jazz, don't lie to me! I just wanted to—"

"Hey," Bailey put his hand on my elbow. The sudden contact made me stop mid-sentence and turn towards him accusingly.

He didn't grimace or even waver in what I'm positive was an extremely dirty and annoyed glare. "Sienna… I think… you should stop now."

"But—!"

He merely shook his head, his eyes boring holes into my skull. I opened my mouth to protest again, but something made me bite back my disapproval. "Fine!" I snapped, turning around to shoot Jasmine a glare. "But don't think the issue is closed, Jasmine."

"Sienna!" Elliot said sharply, coming to my side and taking my hand. I noticed he pushed past Bailey to do so, positioning himself in between us. "Enough," he said firmly.

I lapsed into furious silence, but silence all the same. Elliot tightened his grip around my hand as if to warn me from saying anything else. Some wicked part of me wanted to squeeze his hand back as hard as I could, in an attempt to crush his fingers. Somehow, my self-control stayed strong and I resisted the temptation.

In the aftermath of everything, Bugsy suddenly cleared his throat loudly. He turned to focus on Bailey. "So… Bailey, was it?"

Bailey visibly jumped as the Gym Leader addressed him, a pink blush tinting his cheeks. "Y… yes! That's me." He stammered.

"Are you willing to battle me again? A rematch, for the Hive Badge?"

Bailey frowned a little at the question. "I…don't think so. I don't think I'm ready to battle you again yet." He hesitated before adding "Maybe a rain check sometime?"

"Sure," Bugsy said with relish. "I'll look forward to it."

Bailey grinned. "Thanks, Bugsy."

"No problem," Bugsy said cheerfully before clapping his hands together. "Now, Elliot tells me you're all going for Johto League badges, right?"

We all nodded.

"Well, as you may or may not know, the closest Gym to here is in Violet City run by Falkner,"

"Of course! The Flying type Gym, right?" Elliot grinned, snapping his fingers in realisation.

"Yep!" Bugsy said with a grin. "It's not really that far. All you do is just head across Route 22, go through the Union Cave and then up Route 23. You can't miss Violet City."

"Cool." I said with a grin. "A Flying Type Gym, huh? Should be interesting. And we'll get plenty of opportunities for training along the way."

"Oh!" Bugsy said with a smile. "Well, if it's training you want, you should _definitely _go to Violet City then. They have an annual Battle Tournament there and I've heard the competition is quite tough. Trainers come from all over Johto _and _other regions to compete. There's big money and big prizes for the trainers who do well. It's being held in a couple days, so you could easily get there in time for it,"

My heart leapt. A Battle Tournament! With other strong, skilled Pokemon trainers competing alongside me? My initial thought was one of horror. After everything I had just gone through with Bugsy, all my worries over my strategizing, over if I could still battle the way I used to, the thought of competing against horrifically strong contenders scared me. But then I started to think about it a bit more. It was a good goal to work towards. We wouldn't reach Violet City for a few days at least, and having a Battle Tournament to compete in would be a perfect excuse for some intensive training! The Battle Tournament itself would be a perfect excuse to _test __out _that training and gain some extra experience, without the risk of losing in a Gym Battle. A grin touched on my face.

"What do you think guys?" I consulted the others.

"A Battle Tournament!" Elliot had a look of childlike glee in his eyes. "Yes! I haven't competed properly since the Kanto League two years ago!"

"I'm up for it," Scott said with a swift nod.

"I guess training's always a good thing, right?" Bailey said with a noticeably forced smile.

Jasmine said nothing but nodded firmly. She was clearly up for it too.

We all looked in Nikki's direction who let out a long sigh as soon as our eyes touched on her. "Uhhh… I guess I should probably give proper battling a go again, shouldn't I?"

I had to stop myself from cheering out loud. Elliot looked deliriously happy. Even Scott had a rare smile gracing his face. The idea of a Battle Tournament had completely revived my spirits. It was a perfect opportunity to train and get stronger, both in my Pokemon and my own strategies. And if everyone else was going to be training too, it would be the perfect cover up for me to train to compensate for the mistakes I made in the Gym battle.

"Well, I should be going back to the Gym," Bugsy said with a smile. "Thanks for all the battles today, guys."

"No problem," we all said and bade him goodbye as he disappeared into the Gym.

For a moment, there was silence. My mind was reeling. Too much had happened today. The realisation that I had lost a lot of the skills I had as a trainer. Jasmine losing against Bugsy despite all common sense. The thought of the upcoming Battle Tournament that would give me the drive, and cover up, to train. I let out a long sigh and centred myself. Right now, I was exhausted and would kill for a nap, even in the lumpy, uncomfortable regulation Pokemon centre beds.

"We'll head for Violet City tomorrow, okay?" I said, stifling a yawn. "Right now, I could really use a nap."

"You sound like an old grandmother," Elliot laughed, cuddling into me.

"I feel like one," I said seriously.

We left for the Pokemon centre there and then. Jasmine dawdled at the back of the group looking distinctly unapproachable. I wanted to break off from everyone and talk to her about her loss against Bugsy. I wasn't buying her explanation that she used Albus and Honey to test their strength. Something about that just seemed so… _fishy. _There must have been another reason… I didn't know what the reason was, but I knew she had been lying. But try as I might, I couldn't break away from Elliot who was being unusually clingy, keeping his arm firmly around my waist as we walked.

It was dark by the time we got back to the Pokemon Centre and we sat down for dinner straight away. It was noisy and crowded in the Pokemon Centre canteen so there was little opportunity for chatting. I was desperate to talk to Jasmine about her loss at the Gym but sandwiched in between Elliot and Nikki, I was as far away from Jasmine as I could get. I didn't even get a chance when we went up to bed. Elliot waylaid me on the way to my room and we went out for a late night walk. I had to admit, it was nice to spend time with him alone, walking hand-in-hand in the cool air and in the shadow of the moon, just talking about anything and everything. However, by the time we got back it was after midnight, and both Jasmine and Nikki were already sound asleep by the time I crept into my room. Sighing, I had no choice but to undress and slip into bed, my questions still remaining unanswered. I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, but my sleep was restless, disturbed by dreams filled with unease and the noise of soft, sinister, disembodied laughter.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**This will be my last update until at least December 10th, as I have an essay and an exam due in for next week. Thought I'd update Free Spirits in the meantime. Sorry it's only really filler and doesn't advance the plot much, but hey... It's the best I can do. **

**Splashstorm: I'm so happy you're back to reviewing, it's lovely to have you back :)**

**Sniper Mudkip: Yeah, it was a bit of a shameless plug. But I have no shame! Haha! :) Aww, thank you very much. Last chapter was fun. **

**WarriorSwift: Yep, it's Bailey who'll be catching a Pokemon first! But what...? :)**

**WOWFan123: Haha! Themes are fun! :) Thank you for the review!**

**Manser77: Well, in regard to BaileyxJasmine, it's going to be explored. Still not sure if they'll end up together or not...**

**WildCroconaw: Yeah, it was definitely a wake-up call for her.**

**TwewyReaperGirl: Aww, I'm glad I could do something to make you feel better! And I'm here to talk to any of my readers if y'all have something that's bothering you! **

**Aeroga: Welcome back! :) **

**Zoeten: I don't know WHY the italics are running into each other. It's annoying. Thanks for pointing it out.**

**May and Dawn are the best: Thanks for the two reviews! :)**

**Well that's it for now. Read and review, folks! :)**


	20. Union Cave Upset!

The following morning, after what seemed like the longest night of my life, I finally got the chance to interrogate Jasmine about her loss at Azalea Gym. While Nikki was still busying herself getting dressed, having slept in a little later than she should have, I cornered Jasmine as she was brushing her teeth at the mirror in the shared bathroom. A theory had formed overnight in my head and I had an interesting, albeit worrying, explanation to her still unbelievable loss against Bugsy.

"Jasmine…" I ventured as I sidled in the door.

"I'm almost done," she mumbled, her mouth full of toothpaste.

"That's not what I meant," I had to fight to conceal a grin at Jasmine, who normally looked immaculate, with white foam all around her mouth, giving the strong impression of a rabid Poochyena. "Listen… I wanted to ask you something?"

In the mirror, I saw her perfectly plucked eyebrows shoot up towards her hairline. She said nothing further, so I continued with what I was saying. "Jazz… did you… did you _throw _the match yesterday?"

No sooner had the final world left my lips, Jasmine spluttered in surprise and started to cough, minty toothpaste froth flying everywhere. She rounded on me immediately, her eyes flashing. "What the hell are you talking about?" she said defensively.

I recoiled a little at her angered shout, but the extreme reaction only convinced me more that I was right. "Yesterday, at the match with Bugsy." I told her, watching her face slowly grow angrier and angrier. "You and I both know you could have won _easily _if you'd used Sulphur or any other of your Pokemon. I _also _know you would never put a newly caught Pokemon into a Gym battle. _Never_. You wouldn't let your Pokemon practically walk into inevitable defeat. That's not like you, Jazz. You're not a cruel trainer,"

"Yeah… so what? That doesn't prove I threw any match," Jasmine insisted.

"Maybe not, but I can't think of any other reason you'd put Albus and Honey up for a battle." I said, accusingly. "Unless you wanted to lose on _purpose. _And I know that if it was a matter of you just not wanting to battle or not wanting the badge, you woulda just _said _so and you would've refused to battle." I paused, moistening my lips before delivering the killer blow. "Jazz, I think you _wanted _to lose."

"Why would I _want _to lose?" she said, shooting me a fierce glare. "I don't want to look like a loser like Bailey."

"See, there's a funny thing. Considering how much you call Bailey a loser, who was the one that cheered him on when he wasn't doing well? If I didn't know better, Jazz, I think you felt _sorry _for him for losing."

"What? Are you suggesting I threw the match to make Bailey _feel __better __about __himself_? Oh please, Sienna, you are talking rubbish." She said dismissively. "I lost because I wanted to give Albus and Honey some experience, and what do you know, they weren't ready. _Not _because I wanted to make that idiot Bailey feel better about losing." She paused and then spat out "You idiot. I thought you knew me better than that! I'm going downstairs! Come back and talk to me when you're not high on crazy pills!" And with that, she stormed out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

For a second, I stood there in the aftermath of it all. Then, a wide smile broke out onto my face of its own accord. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much," I said out loud, the grin spreading even wider.

I knew for certain now my assumptions had proven right. I had to admit, the whole thing was quite adorable! Even Jasmine's reaction had been cute when you considered the whole situation. A little giggle escaped me. Jasmine _had _thrown the match against Bugsy. If she'd done it for the reason I'd suspected, to make Bailey feel better about losing, this opened up a whole new world of questions. Jasmine seemed to _hate _Bailey, but if she did, why did she throw the match for him? I was already convinced that Bailey, alongside Scott, harboured a little bit of a not-so-secret crush on Jasmine. I'd never thought it possible that Jasmine could possibly even get _along _with Bailey, let alone return any of those feelings. However now, my interest had well and truly been piqued. I really wanted to know more about this matter…

However, I put it firmly to the back of my mind as I busied myself getting everything together and packed for leaving later in the day. Nikki shot me a knowing glance as I re-entered the room, and I smiled at her. I got the feeling she knew exactly what I had confronted Jasmine about. However, we didn't get the chance to discuss it, as Elliot chose that exact moment to pop his head inside our room and tell us to hurry, as we'd be leaving soon. Immediately, the two of us got straight to packing. I personally wanted to leave Azalea as soon as possible so I could start focusing on training.

After packing and having a quick breakfast, we all met up in front of the Pokemon Centre to make a plan. As I had expected, Jasmine was still maintaining a stony silence, obviously unimpressed with my interrogation from the morning. Elliot was also still acting unusually clingy, keeping his arms wrapped protectively around me and preventing me from moving anywhere. I had to admit, I was pretty confused about the whole thing, and I couldn't help but wonder, considering all the craziness that had happened recently, if I was the only sane person left here.

"So, if we reach Union Cave by midday we should be able to rest there for a bit, right?" I double-checked, trying to bring the conversation to some sort of conclusion.

"Should be," Elliot nodded, resting his chin into the crown of my head.

"Well," I said, looking at everyone in turn. "I was thinking that after we eat lunch we could do some training or something? You know, in preparation for the Battle Tournament in Violet City."

"That's a great idea!" Bailey cried enthusiastically.

"It is," Elliot nodded his approval. "But in my opinion, I think we'd be better off training _inside _Union Cave. There's loads of strong Pokemon in there. I spent a long time training in there myself when I was travelling around Johto in preparation for the Gyms."

"Well, same thing." I said with a shrug. It didn't really make much difference to me where we trained, so long as we actually _did _some. I really had to get back into my comfort zone, and learn how to battle properly again.

"A training session _does _sound good." Scott suddenly interjected, his voice surprising everyone as he spoke. "I know there's _some _of us here that could use some practice," I noticed he paid particular attention to me, Nikki and Bailey as he said this.

"Scott," Elliot said warningly. "I think we could _all_use some training, let's be honest."

Scott merely grunted in response to Elliot. It was clear he didn't agree, but for whatever reason he chose not to pursue it. I rolled my eyes at the fourteen year old, then cleared my throat and attempted to regain control. "Well, we should probably get going, huh?"

Everyone nodded their agreement, and with a murmured consensus, we set off towards Union Cave which would lead us to Violet City, under Elliot's careful guidance.

* * *

><p>It took us no time at all to cross Route 33. It was an eastbound and relatively short route compared to most other routes in Johto and Kanto. It took us barely an hour's travel to clear. The only problem we encountered was that the heavens opened and torrential rain started to beat down on us, forcing us to sprint the final ten minutes of travel to take shelter at the looming figure of Union Cave in the distance. I found myself very glad we had taken the decision to train <em>inside <em>the cave and not outside, like I had initially wanted. We quickly entered the mouth of Union Cave, grateful to get out of the rain and dry off, while we quickly swallowed down our sandwiches and lemonade. Fed, watered, dried, and at least marginally rested, we decided to be on our way through Union Cave.

I was admittedly nervous as we were faced with the crawling expanse of inky black lying out in front of us, but Elliot gripped my hand firmly and was quick to reassure everyone that things were all right.

"It's not a long passage, don't worry." He said calmly. "Twenty minutes or so and we'll be through, provided we don't get lost…"

"Elliot…" Bailey ventured a few seconds later. "What kind of Pokemon live here?"

Elliot considered this. "Mostly Rock and Ground."

"Great…" I felt my heart give a painful twist at this piece of information.

"Okay…" Bailey said slowly. "I meant what _species _live here…"

"Loads!" Elliot cried enthusiastically. "As well as the Rock and Ground Pokemon, this cave is connected to some underground rivers, so you can get all sorts of Water Pokemon here too. And then of course the normal cave Pokemon like Geodude, Zubat, even Onix!"

"Onix, huh…?" Bailey sounded intrigued.

Elliot smiled knowingly. "You interested in an Onix…?"

Bailey laughed nervously. "It would be nice,"

At this point, I could have sworn I heard Jasmine tut disapprovingly nearby.

"You'll have to keep your eyes peeled then." Elliot carried on. "Onix can be quite difficult to find. And even more difficult to catch…"

Bailey grinned sheepishly. "I know… I… I probably won't find one, but a man can dream right?"

"Indeed he can," Elliot said in a strangely philosophical manner, before clearing his throat and taking control again. "Right guys. Shall we go, then?"

No sooner had we taken two steps into the charcoal darkness of Union Cave, it became blatantly obvious that there was no way we could progress without some sort of light. I couldn't even see a hand in front of my face, and my attempts to walk forward in the blackness resulted in tripping over a rock and firmly faceplanting to the ground. I was glad it was too dark for anyone to see…

After Elliot managed to help me up, Nikki and Jasmine decided to step in and offer a little assistance themselves. With a flash of light, they threw down Pokeballs which opened to reveal the familiar, comforting figures of Sulphur the Quilava and Blaze the Charmeleon. The flames they conjured lit up the dark expanse around us, casting a warm flickering glow against the bleak, rocky surroundings. The light came just in time too, as Bailey almost fell into a deep pool of water that had went by previously unnoticed.

"So, how do we get _through _this?" I asked, still squinting. The light from Blaze and Sulphur was enough to see a few feet in front of us, but it was still limited and difficult to manoeuvre around in the darkness still left untouched.

"It's really easy," Elliot explained. "We just follow that little river thing there," he indicated the body of water that Bailey had almost fallen in to. "All water has to lead _someplace, r_ight?" he said with a grin.

"Makes sense," I nodded approvingly. Now and again, my boyfriend proved he did have a brain in his head after all…

"Come on, let's go then." Elliot instructed with a wave of his hands.

We walked in muffled, yet relatively comfortable silence, following the water's path for a good five minutes. I stayed as far away from the edge as possible. I really didn't want to run the risk of falling in, especially in the murky dark. I stuck close to Blaze and Sulphur who led the pack with Elliot. Noticing my discomfort, Elliot took my hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

"It's quiet in here, isn't it?" Bailey piped up a few moments later.

I was about to open my mouth to reply when cheesily on cue, there was a loud splash. I whipped around to see a small blue Pokemon leap out of the small river, send a jet of water straight into Bailey's face, twist around in midair and splash back into the water. Bemused, and dripping wet, Bailey could say nothing while the rest of us couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all.

"The Wooper are playful today, aren't they?" Elliot said with a smile.

Bailey groaned, mopping at his face with the sleeve of his hoodie.

Union Cave definitely seemed to be a favourite hangout place for the Wooper. Within five more minutes we lost count of the amount of Wooper we saw. They waddled around the cave, leaping in and out of the water and shooting the occasional blast of water at the humans invading their territory.

"There's a lot of different passages here, isn't there?" Nikki noted a few moments later as Blaze and Sulphur's flames highlighted a section of cave and tunnels that we completely bypassed.

"Yeah, this place is like a natural maze." Elliot explained to her. "Lots of Pokemon make their homes in those caverns. I don't wanna disturb them unless we have to,"

"I though we were gonna train?" I asked at once.

"Oh, we are." Elliot said casually. "There are a few little caverns where Pokemon nest in just a little further in, if my memory serves me right."

True to Elliot's words, within only a few more minutes we had come to a giant clearing in the cave with lots of small tunnels leading off into different directions.

"All these caverns should have relatively strong Pokemon inside them" Elliot said officially, indicating the ones he meant. "We could all go into different caves or stay as a group?"

"I don't think all of us going in together is a good idea," I ventured. "We could scare them off if there's too many of us. I vote separate groups."

Elliot nodded. "How many groups, then?"

Before I could answer, Jasmine cut in, making a very valid point. "Well we've only got two Fire Pokemon that can produce light," she gestured towards Sulphur and Blaze, standing nonchalantly nearby. "I think we should split into two groups, with each group having a Fire Pokemon."

"Okay," Elliot said with a swift nod. He thought about it for a moment before eventually speaking again. "So… Jasmine… why don't you go with Bailey and Sienna, and I'll go with Nikki and Scott. Fair?"

I gawped a little at Elliot's choice of groups. Considering how unusually overly affectionate he was being, I was more than a little surprised he hadn't wanted the two of us to be together. Even stranger than that was his decision to pair Jasmine and Bailey together! A deaf _and_blind person could see that Jasmine wasn't exactly Bailey's biggest fan! I mentally sunk my head into my hands. When it came to common sense, Elliot didn't seem to be endowed with much of it.

A thought occurred to me. It was obvious that Jasmine didn't like Bailey. But to me at least, it was obvious that Bailey thought quite a bit of Jasmine. I looked at Elliot quizzically. Had he somehow come to the same conclusion that _I _had? I decided to find out.

While Jasmine protested loudly about something or other, and Nikki attempted to pacify her, I took the distraction as a perfect opportunity to grab his arm and pull him off to the side and ask him. "Are you sure it's a good idea to put Bailey and Jasmine together?" I hissed, taking care to keep my voice low. "Jasmine practically _hates _him."

He looked at me a little confused in the dim light. "I think it's a great idea." He said with an airy shrug. "I mean, don't you think Bailey has a bit of a thing for Jasmine…?"

Even in the face of my theory proving right, I was still a little flummoxed and took a moment to respond. "Well… I_… _I_…__think_ so…"

"Please…" Elliot said with a short laugh. "I know what a man in love looks like,"

I frowned at him, about to chastise him for using the word "love" in regard to Bailey's feelings for Jasmine, especially considering we'd only known him for a week, (and I was pretty sure you couldn't fall in love in that short a time span), but I found myself intrigued by what he said. "You do…?"

"Yeah, of course." He said, a warm smile breaking across his face. He stepped forward, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. "I have to look in the mirror every morning, don't I?" he murmured into my ear, his cool breath tickling my neck.

My heart gave an excited twist at his words, and I and reached up and draped my arms around Elliot's neck, nestling my face into his warm, sweet-smelling shoulder. "You're such a charmer," I murmured, savouring the feeling of our close body contact.

"Indeed I am, Miss Volbeda…" He said, holding me closer. His lips started to travel down my neck, kissing me softly.

I started to giggle like a schoolgirl as he kissed me. "What's up with you, lately? You're getting so affectionate…"

"I just forget sometimes how lucky I am," he said, kissing my neck harder.

I giggled as his soft, smooth lips crept across my neck and face. His touch left goosebumps everywhere he went and I felt blissful and content. Sometimes, after a year-and-a-half of a relationship, romance often took a back seat once two people were comfortable with each other and had bypassed the "honeymoon" period at the beginning. But not with Elliot. Sometimes, we acted more than friends than partners, but at times like this, I remembered why I had fallen in love with him. Even better, sometimes it was like falling in love with him all over again.

For those slow, beautiful moments, I had totally forgotten about the original dilemma I had been having, and two other boys and girls standing nearby. It wasn't until Jasmine's voice blasted out like a foghorn that I was alerted back to the present.

"Oi!" she hollered, about as subtlety as a ten-tonne sledgehammer. "Lovebirds! Pack that in! We're supposed to be going through a cave, here!"

At her outburst, Elliot and I sprang apart like we'd just been burned. Blushing furiously, I looked guiltily back at the rest of our training companions. Bailey looked incredibly sheepish, Scott looked mildly disgusted, Nikki looked highly uncomfortable and Jasmine just looked like she was about to blow a fuse at any moment. I chanced a glance at Elliot. He didn't look bothered in the slightest, but that didn't help me from reddening even further at the probing glances Jasmine was now shooting us.

"Now, are you sure you don't want to come with me and Sienna, Elliot?" Jasmine asked, her voice dripping with intent, pointedly shooting Bailey an angry look.

"No, no." Elliot said brightly, deflecting her annoyance straight away. "I trust you and Bailey to look after her,"

I had to bite back a laugh at his easy-going manner. Jasmine looked like she was about to blow up any second now, but let out a haughty outburst of "FINE!" obviously conceding defeat, and stalked to the other side of the cave.

Elliot chuckled in delight at Jasmine, before leaning down to whisper in my ear. "Try and push them in the right direction, okay?"

I winked back at him, and took a deep breath. "I'll do my best… but I can't be held responsible if Jasmine tries to throttle him,"

Elliot laughed delightedly. "Oh I don't know so much… Jasmine's a funny one. She's the kind of girl who does the exact opposite of what she _means_…"

I blinked. "Meaning…?"

"If she likes someone, she's a bitch to them." He said bluntly.

"Uhh…" I said, flummoxed. "Well, funny thing actually…" I lowered my voice even softer as Jasmine was eyeballing me furiously, even from the other end of the clearing, as if willing me to walk over to her and stop Bailey from approaching her. "I think Jasmine may have thrown that match with Bugsy on purpose… to make Bailey feel better."

"Oh!" Elliot sounded pleasantly surprised. "That's kinda cute,"

"She denied it of course," I said with a sigh. "I just think there might be something the—"

"Sienna!" Jasmine suddenly bellowed. "Are you coming or not!"

"Easy, Jazz!" I called back. "I'll be there in a minute," I said, then turned back to Elliot. "I better get over there," I said apologetically.

"It's okay," he said kneeling down to kiss my nose. "Go ahead. I don't want you to suffer the infamous Wrath of Jasmine,"

I flashed him a grin, before kissing him one last time and crossing over to Jasmine and Bailey. I could practically feel the tension between the two of them. Bailey was shooting Jasmine frequent, nervous glances while Jasmine stood stock-still, arms tightly crossed and a look of thunder on her face.

Agreeing to meet back in half an hour, the two different groups headed into different caves. Acting as a mediator between Bailey and Jasmine was exhausting to say the least. Bailey was overly eager to talk, and Jasmine was almost completely silent.

After some considerable time with completely no luck at finding Pokemon, we eventually, found a cluster of Geodude innocently swarming near the back of a cave. However, startled by the light from Sulphur's fire, they screeched and immediately turned on us. For a moment, my heart dropped sickeningly into the pit of my stomach at the mere sight of the Ground Pokemon, as it always did when I was faced with those types. But no sooner had the Pokemon leapt into action than the noises of two Pokeballs opening reached my ears.

"Honey, take 'em down!"

"Corsola! Go for it!"

I screeched in surprise as blasts of water from Bailey's Corsola suddenly burst from behind me and ploughed into the ranks of Geodude, knocking them back, weakening them sufficiently. Still recoiling in shock, I barely registered Jasmine's new Heracross Honey as it shot past me, its wings fluttering furiously, before demonstrating a powerful Brick Break on a Geodude that turned on it.

In the midst of all this, a stray Geodude broke away from the pack and turned towards me, brandishing rocks. My hand immediately grasped around the first Pokeball I could find and I chucked it forward with all the strength I could summon, praying for a good result.

Monty came bursting from the Pokemon and I couldn't help but swear, out loud and repeatedly. Monty was probably the worst one to fight against a bunch of Geodude. The Geodude was rapidly closing in though, and I wouldn't have time to recall Monty and release another Pokemon without being hit.

My mind raced with a million panicked thoughts, but they crashed into each other, collapsing into mere gibberish. I didn't know what to do! I couldn't have Monty attack; his attacks would be useless against the solid body of a Geodude! I opened my mouth; desperate to put forth an order, but all that came out was a useless croak.

Monty however was smart enough to know what to do even with his trainer being a complete airhead. Leaping effortlessly high above the Geodude's thrown rocks, he landed lithely a good six feet away, completely out of harm's way. As the stray Geodude turned to face his escaped target, Monty let out a vicious, low growl that made the Geodude completely stop in its tracks and to my surprise, even back away a few paces. I was shocked, but I quickly pulled myself together.

"Monty! Power Gem!"

Monty executed the attack perfectly, but the Geodude somehow was still able to sail out of the way and the attack crashed uselessly into the cave wall. I gasped as the attack whooshed past me, barely missing me. Glancing upwards I saw torrents of water crashing into everything in sight, and deep rumblings and the sounds of blasts rang in my ears.

Then I heard a noise like something had crashed through the rock wall.

A horrible screeching roar sounded right in front of me. Whipping my head around, I saw a gigantic, snake-like shadow fall across my vision. Even in the dim light of the cave, there was no mistaking what I was seeing.

"ONIX!" I heard Jasmine bellow.

Within seconds, the whole cave was shaking like it was being wracked by a vicious earthquake. I screeched, falling off balance and onto my knees, only just able to grab onto Monty as the whole place shook so violently that none of us could stay upright. Without warning, a giant snake-like creature that seemed to be made out of massive boulders roared past, crashing through the low-hanging walls. As soon as it made impact with the walls, they splintered and cracked, sending massive chunks of rock slamming into the ground, kicking up dust and debris everywhere, and making a noise that sounded like buildings crashing to the ground. The sounds of screams reached my ears, but I couldn't be sure if they were mine, or someone else's. A few moments later, the Onix rumbled past, and everything descended into calm, and an eerie silence.

My breath was coming in quick, hysterical gasps and my strength had failed me completely. I was trembling, my hands shaking so badly I dug them into Monty's fur to try and conceal them. I hated Onix. I hated them so much. I hated how big they were, how violent they were and how dangerous they were. It hit me hard that we could easily have been killed had we not been so lucky.

When I had finally calmed myself down a little, I jumped all over again when I heard a bellowing voice erupt from somewhere deep within the cave.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

"That's Elliot's voice…" I recognised it immediately, before taking a deep breath and shouting back. "WE UPSET AN ONIX!"

My voice echoed blindly down the winding corridors, sounding like it was bouncing and reverberating off every surface it came across.

"YOU _WHAT_?" This time the voice was of a slightly higher pitch. Unmistakeably Scott's. His voice always rose to a comically high pitch whenever he was embarrassed or annoyed, according to Nikki, that is. "ARE YOU INSANE! THAT'S DANGEROUS!"

No sooner had his voice faded out, I could hear the noises of quick footfalls echoing down the cave, and moments later Elliot, Scott and Nikki had appeared at the mouth of the clearing we were currently in. Nikki and Elliot looked sick with worry, and even Scott looked a little uncharacteristically panicked. As soon as Elliot saw me, he raced up and helped me to my feet, investigating me thoroughly for any signs of injuries. "Are you all right? Are you hurt?" he demanded.

"We're fine, just a little shaken…" I said truthfully. As I said this, I looked across to Bailey and Jasmine. Both were on their feet, but looked horrified and who were changing to varying shades of white and green. Nikki caught me looking over at them, and immediately crossed over to Jasmine's side, slipping her hand in hers and murmuring something to her softly.

"Good, at least you're all safe," Elliot pulled me into an ever tighter hug than I thought he was capable of, caressing my hair. "I was so worried when I heard all that commotion…"

I murmured something incomprehensible, just wanting to cling onto Elliot forever.

Somewhere behind me, Jasmine spoke. "Stupid Onix…!" Her voice, although sharp enough to communicate her anger, was shaky and strained.

I shifted my head around to look at Jasmine. At that moment, Bailey turned on his heel and approached Jasmine. "Jasmine…" he ventured. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just _fine_, thank you!" she snapped at once.

Bailey was strangely undeterred by her angry retort. "Are you sure? You look pale!" he insisted.

"What are you, my mother?" she hissed, shooting Bailey a glare that would turn him to stone. "I don't need _you_ looking out for me all the time."

"Hey, Jazz, calm down." I interjected immediately. "I know you're in shock, but Bailey's just worried about you, okay?"

Jasmine twitched, before turning her face to look at me instead. "I don't need anyone looking after me, I'm eighteen years old for goodness sake!" she said in a low, angry tone. "I don't need a babysitter, I don't need a mother and I definitely don't need _you_," she pointed an accusing finger at Bailey, her voice rising in fervency and volume with every word she said. "Fussing over me like a mother hen!"

At the final part of her outburst, her voice reached ear-splitting, deafening levels. Bailey shrunk away, looking wounded as she finished. A muffled, sheepish silence descended on the whole group. I didn't dare look at Jasmine or Bailey or anyone else for that matter. For a few awkward minutes, everything was silent.

Then, a deep rumble sounded somewhere far off in the depths of the cave.

"The hell was that…?" I whispered.

"I… I don't know…" Elliot said softly from beside me.

It came again, this time louder. And then again, even closer. And then once more, sounding like it was only a few metres away. Icy fear gripped my heart. At our feet, some tiny chips of rock began to quiver ominously. I looked up at Elliot just as a vicious roar coursed through the entirety of the tunnels. Then there was another roar, accompanied with the same deep rumblings that had sounded earlier. Rooted to the spot with fear, it didn't even occur to me to run.

Until the ground underneath us started shaking, deep cracks forming in the earth, like we were directly in the middle of an earthquake zone.

Then something blasted through the rocky wall immediately to my right.

I screamed as another giant Onix rumbled straight through the cave, kicking up huge trenches of dirt and earth as it rampaged past.

All I heard was one word. I wasn't even sure who it was that yelled it out.

"RUN!"

We didn't waste any time. Everyone ran, our Pokemon hot on our heels. However, we had only cleared half of the cave when a massive explosion from behind the cave sent us all tumbling to the ground, rocks, dust and gravel raining down on us, pelting our bodies. I could feel the vicious shaking permeate through the ground, shaking me to my core. I whipped my head up to see a seemingly endless stream of Onix rampaging past. There was so many of them they couldn't squeeze through the small opening into the main tunnel, and seconds later they crashed into the rock, forming their own tunnels. I screamed as thick chunks of rock started falling all around us, and then to make matters worse, what little light we had suddenly disappeared, plunging everything around us into inky blackness.

I didn't know where anyone was, so I tried to struggle to my feet, but it was difficult fighting against the shaking terrain. I managed it eventually, and in a blind panic, I just ran. I was completely oblivious as to where Monty was or where any of my friends were. I heard someone scream, heard another rough yell, and then what sounded like the noises of a building crashing down right in front of me. I cried out in fright as chunks of rock rained down on me, and a massive impact shook right in front of me.

I tried to push through explosions of pain that burned through my body and keep running, but I collided straight with something solid. The force of the collision knocked me flat on my back and dizzy and with pain exploding through my head, I immediately blacked out.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Short author's note today guys, since this chapter's been long already!**

**One more chapter to go before the Battle Tournament arc! I hope you're looking forward to it! :)**

**Thanks to Aeroga, WarriorSwift, WOWFan123, WildCroconaw, Hikaru-pichu, May and Dawn are the best, TwewyReaperGirl, Brave Soul RMS, Zoeten, Dance Elle Dance/Padfoot Arcanine, purplefan9639 and Shadow Serenity 57 for your reviews, help and kind words :)**

**Special thanks goes to the brilliant "shipping King" Shadow of Eckhart for creating shipping names for Bailey and Jasmine, and Nikki and Christian. **

**Bailey and Jasmine - PauperShipping (referring to Jasmine being rich, successful and pretty, and Bailey being... none of those things)**

**Nikki and Christian: DryIceShipping (referring to the spectacle and graundeur of the contests the two partake in)**

**Thanks everyone :) Please read and review if you can :)**


	21. When There's a Will

There was a dead weight on my chest.

Groaning, as I groggily came back into consciousness, I forced my eyes open. All I could see was black. For a second, I panicked, convinced I had lost my sight completely, but after a few moments, my eyes began to adjust and pick out shapes in the distance. I breathed out a sigh of relief, happy I wasn't blind at least. As I lay there trying to get the courage to get up, a sudden, strange thought invaded my head.

"_I sure do pass out a lot…_"

The thought almost made me chuckle, albeit, a little humourlessly, but the oppressive weight leaning on my chest made even _breathing _difficult, let alone laughter. I groaned, trying to sweep the dead weight off me. I had expected it to be rocks or debris of some sort, but as my hand came into contact with it, I gasped as my fingers touched something soft, furry and warm. I had to bite back a scream as the _thing _then hissed angrily and leapt off me.

A few seconds of intense panic later, common sense finally hit me. I pushed myself up, ignoring the vicious twinges of pain that coursed through me in the process, and whispered into the dark expanse. "Monty…?"

Seconds later, I felt a soft head bump into my arm. I whipped my head around and caught sight of two glowing, disembodied eyes staring straight at me. They were undoubtedly Monty's. I let out a squeak of relief.

"Thank God you're okay," I said, blindly throwing my arms out in front of me and pulling the Persian into a haphazard hug. However, the quick movement sent pain screaming through my arms and shoulders, accompanied by a shock of pain to my head. I moaned, slumping forward onto Monty who meowed, almost worriedly.

"I'm… I'm fine…" I breathed out heavily, trying to wait for the pain to ease. My hand grappled for my belt until I found Kiba's Pokeball. I let it drop to the ground, the simple act of even _attempting _to throw it too painful. With a momentary flash of light, the Pokeball opened and Kiba jumped out. He began to bark, but his harsh, grating woofs hurt my head even more and I quickly shushed him.

"Easy, Kiba…" I placed a hand on his side, and he immediately began to whine, obviously sensing something was wrong. I quietened him again. Even the sounds of his whines were painful, like someone dragging their nails across a chalkboard. "Can you give me some light or something?"

A second later, a blast of fire streamed out next to me. It illuminated the cave for only a few seconds, barely enough time for me to even glance around, before the fire died down, plunging everything into darkness once again.

I blinked rapidly in the sudden inky blank, even though it made the pain even worse, trying to readjust my sight to the charcoal surroundings. "There's no way you can… _maintain_ a flame, Kiba!"

He whined softly. I sighed in frustration. It wasn't Kiba's fault, I knew that, but I still found myself angrily wishing that Kiba's flame could just be a _little _more helpful.

Quickly banishing those thoughts from my mind, I focused on trying to get to my feet. The place was eerily silent, the only noise far off in the distance, sounding like the steady drip-drip-drip of water. I still couldn't see, and my mind quickly began to recall that I had had other people with me! Grimacing as pain shot through every iota of my body, I pushed myself to my feet wearily. I had to find the others. If I was injured, I knew there was every possibility the others were too.

"Come on guys, stay close…" I murmured to Monty and Kiba. With my arms out in front of me to catch any obstacles in my way, I started to take a few tentative steps forward. For a few moments, I walked unobstructed, until my foot trod on something soft that let out an indignant yelp. Startled, I leapt back as a burst of flame ignited, and then a soft light was cast into the inky black expanse. In the dim light I could make out a figure.

"Sulphur!"

"Qui! Lava! Lava!"

"Are you okay?" Using the steadily strengthening light of Quilava's flame, I checked him over for cuts and injuries. Seeing he was relatively unscathed, I moved on to Monty. He too was unharmed and I let out a sigh of relief. Still trying to ignore my own niggling pain, I refocused myself on the more pressing issue at hand. "Hey, have you seen the others, Sulphur?"

Sulphur shook his head sadly. "Lava…"

I immediately felt a stab of worry, but I pushed it aside, not wanting the Pokemon to pick up on it. "It's okay," I whispered, trying to sound upbeat and encouraging. "We'll find them. Come on."

I straightened up, wincing, and looked around me, finally able to use Sulphur's dim light to somewhat make out the layout of the small cave I was in. I gasped in shock when my eyes touched on a thick barrier of fallen rocks and boulders completely blocking the pathway into the main tunnels. I backed away, horrified.

"_Are we __trapped_ _in here_? "I thought in terror, my heart banging painfully against my ribcage.

I didn't have time to dwell on it, or panic about it, as all of a sudden, a low, pained groan sounded from somewhere behind me. I pivoted around at once, glancing in every direction, my heart thudding even harder. I couldn't see anything, and for a second, I thought that I had simply imagined it. However, as I began to calm down, it came again, louder and this time I could identify the vague direction it was coming from. It was further in the shadows of the cave, to my extreme left. However, with no light coming from that part of the cave, it would be impossible for me to find whatever it was that was making the noise.

I turned to Sulphur, praying the Pokemon would listen to me in the absence of his trainer. "Sulphur, do you think you could shine some light up there?"

"Lava! Lava!"

To my pleasant surprise, without even hesitation, Sulphur grunted and obediently intensified his fire, the light slowly creeping along the dark ground. I motioned for the three Pokemon to follow me, and as we got closer and closer to the source of the groan, the light eventually fell on a dark, blocky shape.

"Oh my God!" I gasped as Sulphur's light fell on the shape, revealing its true and horribly familar identity. "Bailey? Jasmine?"

Lying in a heap only a few feet away from me were Bailey and Jasmine, lying on their fronts and with their heads down. Bailey's arm was thrown, almost protectively over Jasmine's slim back. For a second, I thought the both of them were unconscious, or for one terrible moment, something _worse, _but then a low groan emanated from Bailey's figure.

"Bailey?" I hissed, getting down onto my knees and shaking him to rouse him further. "Are you okay?"

"Sie…Sienna?" he mumbled as he slowly raised his head. His round face was riddled with open cuts, but other than that he seemed okay, if still a little dazed.

"Are you okay?" I asked immediately.

"I think so…" he said slowly. "Nothing feels broken."

It was then that he seemed to realise Jasmine was lying next to him. He gave a start, whipped his arm from around her back, sat bolt upright and gasped in shock. Only seconds later he had leaned forward again, his face practically nose-to-nose with hers. "Jasmine! Jasmine? Are you okay?

She responded with a slight, muffled mumble that was totally unintelligible.

Terrified something more sinister was wrong; I raised my voice and tried to shake her awake. "Jazz! Jazz! Are you okay?"

After a couple more seconds of incomprehensible low mumbling, she stirred. "My… my head hurts…"

"Look at me," I instructed her, and she obediently raised her face weakly to look at me. Even in the dim light it was impossible to miss a giant gash, bleeding heavily, from the right side of her face. Thinking fast, I whipped off my jumper, ignoring the twangs of pain that went with it and applied it firmly to the side of her head. "Here, this'll stop the bleeding. How are you feeling?"

"Like a mountain fell on me…"

"Close enough," I said with a smile. "I think those Onix must've gone mental and destroyed the cave. The exit's completely blocked. Considering how crazy they all went, we're all in pretty good shape…"

"I know…" Jasmine said weakly, barely even able to support her own head. "I think I'd have come off a _lot _worse if it wasn't for—" She suddenly stopped, her face slowly turning to look at Bailey. "If…" her voice caught and broke off.

"If what…?" I pressed her.

"Did you… Were you the one that pushed me out of the way of that Onix?" she asked Bailey in a low voice.

"Well gee…" Bailey looked a little nervous and I noticed him recoil back slightly. "You… you didn't see it coming…"

My heart inexplicably leapt in my chest.

"Why?" Jasmine demanded.

"I couldn't let you be crushed…" Bailey answered, his voice barely audible above a whisper.

For a moment, Jasmine said and did nothing. Then, her face suddenly twisted. "You—!" she started, sounding angry, making Bailey recoil in fear.

However, she broke off, and seemed to soften after a few moments. For a further couple of seconds, she said nothing, visibly trying to restrain herself. All of a sudden, she let out a deep sigh, and sunk her head into her arms. "You didn't have to do that…"

I blinked in surprise as Jasmine's uncharacteristically soft and gentle tone. Judging by the look on Bailey's face he was just as shocked as I was. He caught my eye, flashed me a confused expression, and then slowly reached out to touch her back. She flinched at his touch, but to my surprise gave no other reaction, and allowed his hand to remain there.

"Yeah… I kinda did…" he said.

I had to strain my ears even harder to hear Jasmine murmur softly "Well… thanks, Bailey…"

"_Aww, how cute is that_!" I squealed inwardly, but quickly came back to earth when I heard a frightened voice calling my name.

"Nikki?" I hollered, immediately recognising the voice. "Are you here?"

"Sienna?" her voice came again, sounding closer this time and laden with relief. "Blaze, quickly, light up the cave as much as you can!"

Seconds later, a beam of light appeared in my peripheral vision. Turning around, I saw a glow slowly approach us, Nikki's unmistakable silhouette masked in the orange light. As soon as she and Blaze entered the main cave, she broke into a run and collapsed down next to us, looking concerned.

"Are you guys okay!"

I nodded hastily, casting a look back at Jasmine, who was still crumpled in a heap on the ground, and Bailey knelt down next to her. "Yeah. Mostly," I said truthfully.

But before I could even get the last syllable out of my mouth, Nikki let out a little shriek. "No! Sienna, Jazz! You're both bleeding!"

I'd almost forgotten about my own injuries, and I felt my still throbbing head experimentally. As soon as my fingers hit my forehead, I felt my hair sticking and crusting to my face, held together with a warm and sticky liquid. My heart thudded, knowing it was blood, but the light-headedness had passed, and the pain was just about tolerable, so I put it to the back of my mind. "I think we'll be okay… we should just get out of here as soon as possible." I paused for a moment, suddenly remembering with a slight stab of panic that we were still two people short. "Where are Elliot and Scott?"

Nikki stopped dead. She slowly turned her face to look at me. Her eyes bulged in panic. "You mean they're not with you!" she cried shrilly.

I shook my head slowly. "N… no… I thought _you _were with them…"

"Oh my God!" Nikki cried, her hand flying to her mouth. "I thought they were with you!"

At this revelation, panic instantly spread. Nikki very quickly embarked on the edge of hysteria, her concern immediately rising for her fourteen year old brother. Bailey let out a gasp of fear. Even Jasmine paled and expressed frightened worry, peppered with onslaughts of curses. Panic gripped my heart, ice crystals burst all over my skin, a million scenarios, each more horrifying than the last, echoed through my mind and I felt like I was going to be sick.

However, a little voice at the back of my mind somehow managed to make itself heard over the panic and commanded me to calm down and keep a level head. Quickly, I shushed everyone, telling them to calm down. Immediately following, I pulled out my phone and dialled Elliot's number, horribly aware of the three pairs of worried eyes watching my every move.

"_We're sorry, the number you have called is una—"_

As soon as that chirrupy, electronic voice sounded at the other end of the phone, all the panic I had tried to suppress came bubbling back, this time with a vengeance. I let the phone fall limply to my side. The others seemed to know just by my face that this endeavour had failed.

"Will they be all right!" Nikki cried, sounding like she was about to burst into noisy tears.

My voice faltered and cracked, but I tried to say what I had to with confidence. I'm not sure it was altogether convincing however. "E-everything will be fine. Elliot and Scott may be a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. They can look after themselves,"

"Whether they can or not, we still need to find them," Bailey said in a strangely commanding and decisive manner, pushing himself to his feet as he said so.

"But how are we gonna get out of here…?" Nikki asked worriedly, her eyes touching on the obstructive barrier of rocks blocking the way out. The barrier was too tall and dangerous to even _attempt _climbing over, and it looked so dense and the rocks were so thickly stacked on top of each other and packed together that I knew it would be too dangerous to attempt to tunnel through.

"What about the way you came from?" I asked Nikki.

She shook her head sadly. "I've already been up and down those tunnels. They all lead to dead ends…"

I grimaced. "Then what—?"

"We could see if we could find an opening there, in that big pile of rocks" Jasmine suddenly said, gesticulating at the barrier of rocks blocking our path.

"I doubt it," I deadpanned immediately.

"Well, what about _creating _an opening!" the tone of Jasmine's voice suggested she'd just had an epiphany. "We've got strong Pokemon! Any one of them could knock a hole into that and let us get past."

"That's too dangerous," Bailey said even before I could. "If we knock even one wrong rock out of place, the whole thing could come crashing down and crush us."

I winced at the thought. "D-don't be so morbid!" I chastised him with as much feeling as I could. "We're going to make it out of this okay, all right?"

Nikki nodded firmly. "We just have to!" she said bravely.

"But how?" Jasmine, ever the pessimist, wanted to know.

"I'm not sure…" I said truthfully. "But you know… when there's a will, there's a way."

With little other option, the four of us split into two groups, each taking a fire Pokemon with us to explore the rock wall blocking our path, hoping to find some manner of escape. Bailey and I, aided by Nikki's Charmeleon, Blaze, investigated the left side, whilst Nikki and Jasmine took charge of the other side.

"This is impossible," I said after ten minutes, my hands raw and sore from attempting to tug at small rocks in the hope of them being lose enough to pull away. "There's no way we can get through this…"

"Whatever happened to "when there's a will, there's a way"?" Bailey asked in his normal cheerful way.

My eye twitched and I couldn't help but frown. I didn't understand how Bailey could be so perpetually optimistic all the time. When I challenged him on this, his response surprised me.

"Someone has to be the optimist, right?"

I frowned. "Well, maybe, yeah. But then why does it have to be you all the time?"

In the dim light, I made out him shrug. "Well… someone like me is kinda expected to be cheerful and optimistic, right?"

I frowned again, deeper this time. "What do you mean?"

"Well, _this_…" he swept his hands down his body. "My weight. You know how people assume blondes to be dumb, red-heads to have bad tempers—"

I found my cheeks tingeing that time. I was glad of the dark. Being a red-head myself, I knew all about that particular one from experience. I bit my tongue however, and let Bailey continue.

"...and all that kind of stuff. Well, it's the same for people like me." He said, a little sadly. "People think fat people don't have anything to offer apart from to be happy, cheerful and funny. You know, to compensate for the fact that our weight is a barrier to social relationships."

I detected a little hint of bitterness in his voice at this point.

"I'm not exactly a funny guy. Anyone I know will tell you that," Bailey said with a sigh. "All I've got going for me is that I know how to listen and give advice. That's not enough. People…" he hesitated. "People _like _being around people that are happy and optimistic. And for someone like me who doesn't have many friends, that kind of trait is invaluable."

"Oh Bailey…" I murmured sadly. "I'm so sorry. For what it's worth I don't think—"

I was cut off by an ominous crack sounding somewhere above our heads. Seconds later, a huge clump of rock dislocated from the top of the barrier and slammed into the ground, only feet away from me. I screeched and backed away, almost falling over Blaze in the process. Bailey caught my elbow and steadied me, a smile erupting over his face.

"Maybe we should move away a little?" he suggested casually.

"I think that would be the best idea…" I said weakly, shuffling over a few paces. I glanced at Bailey, another thought coming to my attention. "Are you _sure _you still want an Onix after all this?"

Bailey grinned. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure."

I gulped nervously. "You do know they're meant to be impossible to catch, right?"

Bailey only laughed delightedly. "When there's a will—"

"There's a way…" I groaned back. "Touché, Bailey."

Nothing further was said at that point, as we joined up with Nikki and Jasmine immediately afterwards. However, as we went over possible solutions to escape this hell-hole of a cavern we were trapped in, my mind couldn't help but tick over what Bailey had said. What he had said about stereotyping people had been undoubtedly true, and it made me feel strangely sad to hear it spoken so bluntly but yet with so much meaning behind it. I just wanted to go up to him and give him a hug, but some part of me knew that the others would think me totally insane if I did, especially with no obvious reason behind it.

After a few moments of discussion, we all realised we had no other choice but to break down the rocky wall if we ever wanted a way out. After a lot of arguing over the best and safest way to go about this, we eventually decided to send Aurora in for the job.

With Aurora standing a far enough distance away from the rock wall, and the rest of us squashed against the opposite wall, and my hand holding out Aurora's Pokeball _just in case_, we were ready.

"Okay, Aurora!" I felt my voice rise in pitch at my nervousness, but I tried to regain control of it once again. "Give us a Water Gun into those rocks!"

I tensed as Aurora sent forth the powerful jet stream of water and it collided straight with the barrier of rocks. I knew that Aurora was the only Pokemon likely to have water attacks strong enough to even put a dent in that wall, and I was quickly proven right. I cheered as the water blasted straight through the rock wall, scattering boulders, rocks and debris everywhere. With a noise that sounded like a building coming down, the whole rock wall collapsed and fell in on itself, flattening and levelling itself completely.

"Yes!" I cheered, punching the air with my fist. "Good work Aurora!"

She barked happily, clapping her fins together, looking very pleased with herself. Swiftly, I recalled Aurora, Monty and Kiba, replacing their Pokeballs on my belt. With only Sulphur and Blaze now to lead the four of us through the cave, we picked our way very slowly across the cavern. Crossing the pile of shattered rocks proved hairy to say the least, and everyone had to hold onto each other to get over in one piece. In one instance, I saw Jasmine stumble as she lost her footing and cling onto Bailey for support. My heart leapt as I wholly expected her to shout at him, but instead, she used his arm to balance herself, mumbled a quick, almost embarrassed "thank you" and continued on her way. I stopped, momentarily flummoxed, before making myself push onward.

Eventually we cleared the pile of rocks. Now faced with two different ways to proceed through the cave, we were stumped. I had the vague notion that one way would lead back the way we came, and the other would lead to the way out. However, this whole cave had had a disorientating effect on me, and I didn't know which way was which, _or _which way Elliot and Scott were likely to have taken.

Eventually, we took the path leading to the right. Our footsteps echoed loudly down the strangely empty passageways, and for a few horrible moments I thought we had gone completely the wrong way, until we found the familiar, and oddly comforting, pool of water that Elliot had said to follow to find the way out.

After ten minutes of walking, somewhere, far in the distance, we heard a roar.

All six of us, including Blaze and Sulphur, stopped dead in our tracks.

"You've _got _to be kidding me…" was all I could say.

"What is that…?" Nikki whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Judging from our luck, it's probably another Onix…" I said, straining my ears to see if I could pinpoint where the roar was coming from. However, instead of a roar, another sound reached my ears.

Someone screaming.

"But that sounds like…"

"Scott!" Nikki cried out in horror. "Blaze, come on!"

Before any of us could protest, Nikki had broken into a run, her Charmeleon hot on her heels, taking away half of the already limited light we had. I cursed, and motioned to the others. "Come on!"

We ran up the narrow cave passageway, our feet pounding on the hard ground, sounding like a herd of rampant Mamowsine. In the distance, I heard another roar, followed by a deafening crash, another rough yell and then an ominous rumble that reverberated through the passageway. My heart constricted more and more with every horrifying noise that reached my ears, and I started to pray inwardly.

"_Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay!_"

With a burst of energy, I cleared the end of the passageway and caught up with Nikki and Blaze, who had stopped in their tracks in the upcoming cavern.

I found out why soon enough.

A giant Onix that was so massive it took up almost the entire height and width of the cave was roaring and thrashing its snake-like body against everything it came into contact with. The noise was deafening and the rumbles going through the ground beneath me were so strong I could barely even stay upright. My eyes scanned the small cave and I let out a scream of fright when I saw the crumpled bodies of Scott and Elliot at either end of the cave.

"We've got to stop that Onix!" I bellowed, my hand flying for a Pokeball just as Jasmine and Bailey reappeared behind me. "Go, Aurora! Water Pulse!" I ordered, throwing the capsule forward.

"I'll help too," Bailey said, tossing a Pokeball forward. "Go, Corsola!"

"Me too," Jasmine said, removing her own Pokeball. "Go, Mizu!"

The Onix immediately stopped in its tracks as soon as it laid eyes on the three Water Pokemon squaring off in its direction. I whipped my head around to face Nikki as soon as Aurora's powerful Water Pulse slammed into the Onix, catching it off guard. "Get to Scott and Elliot and see if they're okay!"

Nikki nodded, her eyes wide before rushing off to Scott's side. Watching only her just long enough so I knew she was safe, I turned around to face the battle. My heart leapt to my mouth as I saw the Onix use Rock Throw. Corsola and Mizu were light and agile enough to dodge the rocks, but Aurora wasn't. I had to think fast!

The answer came to me in a wondrous flash of inspiration.

"Aurora! Use Water Gun to shoot those rocks down!"

Aurora did as she was asked, and with the precision of a prized archer, shot each and every rock that came her way with such a powerful jet of water that it knocked them straight to the ground, useless.

"Nice one!" Bailey called over, sounding impressed.

Jasmine laughed, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "If you think that was good, try this on for size! Mizu, Bubblebeam now! And aim for the eyes!"

"Zumarill!" Mizu cried, opening her mouth and letting loose a vicious stream of huge, fast bubbles that honed in to the Onix straight away.

I couldn't help but be surprised! I'd never seen a Bubblebeam that strong before. And the idea of aiming for the vulnerable eyes was always a good strategy. I smiled. Jasmine did certainly know what she was doing. This was cemented even further when the Onix roared in pain and recoiled sharply as the bubbles hit it.

"Corsola, you use a Bubblebeam too!" Bailey cried out.

Bailey's Corsola's Bubblebeam was nowhere near as strong or as fast as Mizu's had been, but it still seemed to cause the Onix some considerable amount of pain. The Onix thrashed around blindly for a few moments, causing yet more rocks to fall around us. One landed only a few feet from a still unconscious Elliot. My heart leapt. This was getting too dangerous now to simply try and keep the Onix at bay.

"This thing is too dangerous! We have to stop it NOW!" I hollered. "Aurora, use Water Pulse, quickly!"

"Water Gun at the same time, Mizu!"

"Corsola! Help them out with another Bubblebeam!"

The three Water Pokemon somehow synced together their attacks, and the impressive, dazzling display of the combined attacks slammed straight into the Onix's body. The Onix roared as the water sprayed into it relentlessly. Once the water finally subsided, the Onix was considerably weakened, and probably past the point of doing damage, but I wanted to end it. I didn't want to take any chances whatsoever.

"Aurora, finish it with an Aurora Beam!" I ordered.

It was over as soon as the rainbow hued beam came into contact with the Onix. It let out one last weak roar of pain and collapsed onto the ground, completely unconscious. I didn't even wait to see what happened next. I broke away from Bailey and Jasmine, who were celebrating their victory loudly and collapsed on the ground next to Elliot, who was still unconscious.

"Elliot!" I cried, pushing back his locks of brown hair. I gasped when I saw a gash even deeper than the one Jasmine had sustained in his upper right temple. "Are you all right?"

"I… I think he's just unconscious," A voice came from above me, and I looked up to see Nikki standing over me. "Scott's unconscious too, but I think they'll be okay."

"Thank God…" I exhaled deeply, slipping my hand into Elliot's and squeezing it, trying to rouse him. As I did this, he let out a little mumble and began to stir. My heart soared with relief, and I started to speak to him softly, trying to bring him round.

However, a noise from the back of the cave startled me and I whirled around in the direction of it, automatically on guard in case it was more danger. Thankfully, it wasn't and I was just able to see a Pokeball bounce off the unconscious figure of the Onix, open, and trap the giant beast inside. The Pokeball dropped to the ground, and rolled once, twice, three times and then that oh-so-familiar _ding _rang out in the muffled silence of the cave.

I turned my head in surprise just in time to see Bailey scoop up the Pokeball and hold it aloft proudly above his head. He caught my eye, grinned and mouthed "When there's a will…"

"There's a way…" I murmured softly, garnering some quite confused looks from Nikki in the process who obviously didn't have a clue _what _I was talking about. I ignored them however, a wide beaming smile erupting over my face at the amusing way this whole thing had turned out.

As Elliot and Scott finally came around, we filled them in on what they'd missed while being unconscious (Scott was unusually embarrassed and offended when we told him he'd been unconscious) and continued on our way, finding the exit to the Union Cave after clearing only two more short caverns.

As we stepped out into the cool air once again, I let out a sigh of relief, breathing in as much fresh, calming countryside air as humanly possible, immensely glad to be out of that musty, dark, oppressive cave. With Bailey helping to support Elliot, and Nikki _attempting _to support her stubborn and proud little brother, we began the short walk along Route 23 that would bring us in to Violet City before nightfall.

My heart thudded in anticipation. Violet City, which housed the upcoming Battle Tournament and the third out of the four Gym Badges that I needed, was definitely going to be a challenge. My mouth suddenly dried and I felt a slight stab of some kind of nervousness that I couldn't explain. I glanced upwards at a darkening sky, noticing thick clouds rolling in over the horizon and suddenly felt rather uneasy. Something almost felt slightly foreboding, and I cast a worried look back behind me, suddenly getting the strangest feeling that someone was watching me…

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Merry Christmas everyone :) **

**I know it's technically only Christmas Eve, but still :)**

**Now, two announcements...**

**1) The next chapter starts the beginning of the OC tournament. It's going to be a very long arc, so please be patient with me in that respect :)**

**2) This one is a little sadder. I've actually decided that when Free Spirits is concluded, which I'm anticipating to be next June sometime, I'm going to retire from fanfiction writing. I'll still use the site to read fanfics and talk to all the friends I've made, but I won't be updating. I'll need all my time to focus on university and I'm aiming to try and get published for real, so I need to devote all my attention to that. So yes... once Free Spirits is concluded, OceanSpiral will be retiring. It's a hard desicion to make, but it has to be done :(**

**Now, to my wonderful reviewers. Thanks very much to Sniper Mudkip, WarriorSwift, Shadow Serenity 57, TwewyReaperGirl, Zoeten and Aeroga. **

**Please Read and Review if you can find the time :3 Thanks guys :) And have a wonderful Christmas when it comes!**


	22. Be Careful What You Wish For

Even now, I shudder to think what the residents of the calm, peaceful Violet City would have thought when six battered, bruised and bloody trainers entered their local Pokemon Centre, moaning, groaning and complaining over being "ambushed by Onix" in the middle of Union Cave. Forget strange looks, I was scared they'd try and have us committed. Although we certainly did harbour our fair share of odd and frightened looks from some of the younger trainers, particularly due to Elliot, who had blood cascading down his head and who was still very groggy and barely able to speak coherently. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't horribly worried about him. I hated seeing him like that, injured and vulnerable. I felt a lot better when the caring Nurse Joy whisked Elliot and Scott away for first-aid treatment, even despite Scott's angered protests that there was nothing wrong with him.

With Elliot and Scott in safe hanfds, we three girls and Bailey decided to leave them to it, unwind, get showered and eat dinner later. I sighed with relief as I stepped into a warm shower, letting the gentle heat wash over me and soothe my aching limbs. However, as I attempted to wash the dried blood out of my hair, I squealed with pain as the water aggravated the open and still raw cut on my head. It took a long time and a great deal of pain to get rid of all the blood, and even once it was clear, I didn't dare try and shampoo my hair until the cut closed up. I certainly didn't want to feel like I'd just stuck my head into a vat of acid. I stepped out of the shower, shivering at the cold air and dressed quickly before hurrying back to the shared room Nikki, Jasmine and I would be staying in. Neither of them had returned yet, so I collapsed onto my bed, all of a sudden feeling exhausted.

My muggy and disordered thoughts eventually drifted to the upcoming Battle Tournament that Bugsy had told us would be taking place in Violet City sometime very soon. I had to admit I was getting quite excited at the prospect. I turned my head on the pillow, and as I did so, caught sight of a leaflet propped up against the table lamp on the desk.

I reached out and took it, opening it up. It was a standard issue leaflet that all Pokemon Centres distributed for out of town trainers to highlight the main sights and attractions of whichever city they were in. The Violet City one didn't have a lot of information on it compared to most other leaflets I'd seen, but there was a semi-interesting article on the origins of the Sprout Tower, some information on the very famous Violet City Pokemon Academy for prospective trainers, another article on the Violet Gym (that unfortunately gave little helpful information on the Gym Leader or the Pokemon he/she used) and finally, a short paragraph on the Battle Tournament.

I found out that this famous Battle Tournament was held every year, and it seemed to grow in popularity every time it was held. I found it surprising that there was never any prizes or money offered to the ultimate victor of the tournament, but in fact the title of the Champion was enough to ensure trainers to keep coming back. After further reading, I discovered that the tournament would be taking place two days from now.

It was at this point that Nikki reappeared in the room, her long black hair lying in wet tendrils around her slim shoulders. She offered me a smile. "Hey. What are you doing?"

"Researching," I flapped the leaflet at her. "It had some information about that Battle Tournament on it,"

"Oh really?" Nikki asked, plucking it from my fingers and consulting it. "Oh, the day after tomorrow, huh?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "So that gives us tomorrow to relax. Or train. Whatever people would rather do, I guess…"

Nikki sat down on the bed heavily, murmuring something incomprehensible. I frowned a little, but decided not to pursue it, choosing to inquire after our absent friend instead. "So, where's Jasmine?"

"In the bath," Nikki said, stretching her arms and letting out a little moan. "I think she's going to be in there for a while…"

I nodded. "What about Bailey, Scott, and Elliot?"

"Bailey's in his room, and I think Scott and Elliot are still getting seen to by Nurse Joy,"

I let out a sigh. "So, it's just us two for a bit."

"Yep…" Nikki said a little nervously.

Nothing more was said for a few moments as I lay on the bed. I was stuck for something to say for a while. Nikki wasn't good at instigating conversation. Or even keeping up conversation. She just wasn't a talkative person, at all. And I had to admit, I quite liked that. It was nice to get a bit of peace and quiet sometimes without Jasmine or Elliot or Bailey talking in your ear non-stop.

Bailey…

A thought struck me and I sat straight upright in my bed, turning on Nikki immediately. She was distracted by something on her phone and didn't even see me sit up. "Nikki," I said sharply, trying to get her attention.

"Yes?" she asked, peeping up at me through a curtain of black hair.

"Do you think Jasmine may… _like _Bailey?"

This time, I got her attention completely. Her eyes widened and she immediately set her phone down. "What?" she squeaked.

I quickly relayed all the evidence I had amassed on the matter to Nikki. Elliot's theory that Jasmine only acted like a bitch to Bailey because she didn't know how else to behave, the fact I was certain she had thrown her own Gym battle to make him feel better, his constant caring and fussing over her even when she didn't want to know, the way he protected her in the Union Cave and then finally, the sweet, tender display they had exchanged when Jasmine thanked him for protecting her. Nikki's eyes grew wider and wider with every thing I said until she resembled a startled Hoothoot by the end of it.

"You know, I've been thinking all that myself…" she said softly. "I knew Bailey had a thing for Jasmine, and I was starting to think Jasmine might possibly be feeling the same way, but I didn't want to say anything."

"Me neither," I said with a sigh. "We'll just have to see what happens,"

"Yeah," Nikki said with a nod. "At the same time though, I kinda want to—"

Nikki was abruptly cut off by the sound of her phone ringing. She quickly fumbled for it, but stopped in surprise when she saw the caller ID.

"Is that Christian?" I asked, just of politeness. It was _always _Christian.

"No," she said, her frown deepening. "It's my dad!"

She answered the phone and began talking to her dad. She didn't sound panicked, so I didn't think it polite to listen in. Instead, I stretched my still aching body across the bed, glancing at the darkening sky as I did so, and started to idly play with a Pokeball. It wasn't difficult to zone out from Nikki's quiet voice, not that I'm sure she would have minded me listening. If it had been something important, she would have left the room after all. Eventually, just as the prospect of sleep was about to get the better of me, Nikki ended her phone call.

"What was that all about?" I asked her lazily as soon as she snapped her phone shut.

She looked a little bewildered as she stowed her phone away in the safety of her bag again. "My dad says to go down to the PC downstairs." She said, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "He's sent me something from Unova,"

"Unova?" I said in surprise.

"Yeah. My dad's a Pokemon researcher. He does all sorts of work abroad in other regions looking at Pokemon not native to back home," Nikki explained. "He was posted to Unova last month, but this is the first I've heard from him since he went there."

I nodded, before swinging my legs off the bed I was lying on. "Well, what are we waiting for? We better go see what he sent you!"

The two of us quickly padded down to a mostly empty Pokemon centre lobby, and headed straight for the computers at the far side of the room. Nikki accessed the PC that she needed and loaded it up, and then found a video message addressed to her in her inbox. She shot me a perplexed look before pulling it up. A kindly looking middle-aged man with a mop of black hair, comically wide glasses and a slightly dazed expression flashed up on the screen.

"_Hello my dear,_" the man's voice was soft, yet cultured and with an air of professionalism to it. "_I'm sorry I haven't been keeping much in touch with you and Scott. I hear from your mother you've been going around Johto with Sienna and the others? Be careful out there, okay? Now, as you know I've been travelling around Unova and I found something I think you'd really like. I know you've got your Ninetails, Charmeleon, Numel and Magby, but I think you're more than ready to have a fifth team member. So, I've sent you over a Fire Pokemon from Unova that I came across the other day. It's called a Pansear."_

"Oh my!" Nikki cried out in surprise.

"_Good luck with your travels, my darling. Give my regards to Scott and to your friends too. And Christian, next time you see him. Goodbye. I love you. Have fun with the Pansear."_

At that, the video message terminated and the Pokeball slot holder ejected itself from the tower of the computer, revealing a Pokeball. Nikki looked at it like it was a bomb about to go off. I couldn't help but smirk. I had no idea what a Pansear was, but I had to admit I was eager to see it. After some gentle prompting, Nikki took the Pokeball nervously, glanced at me, wide-eyed and then tossed the Pokeball to the ground.

I came face to face with a small orange and yellow monkey-like Pokemon with bright, inquisitive eyes that immediately began screeching loudly as soon as it left the Pokeball. Nikki quickly dropped to her knees and tried to shush the Pokemon, but it responded by letting out a burst of flames that narrowly missed singing her hair. I burst out laughing as the over-excited monkey Pokemon took off, scampering around the Pokemon Centre, and an irate Nikki had no choice but to take off after him.

"Nikki is never going to get any rest now with that Pansear," I chuckled to myself. "I thought Magby was bad enough!"

And with that, I turned on my heel and went back to the room, leaving Nikki to deal with the over-excited monkey Pokemon by herself. I smirked to myself, a comical thought entering my head.

"_I can be a really bad friend when I want to be!"_

* * *

><p>The following day passed slowly and calmly. A day of rest was well-received by all six of us, although I spent most of that day sparring with Bailey and his newly acquired Onix, and Nikki with her brand new Pansear, which she had, so originally, named Darwin. By the end of the day, the three of us were exhausted, but I was pretty sure we were all a little more experienced and more confident about undertaking the battle tournament the following day.<p>

However, nerves were high for everyone the morning of the tournament.

The Battle Tournament was accepting sign ups at eight in the morning to nine o'clock only, and apparently there would be no exceptions to this rule, so the six of us woke up early and went down to the local Pokemon academy where the sign-ups would be taking place. I had assumed that leaving early, around quarter to eight, would guarantee us a good spot in line, perhaps even first spot, but I was so wrong.

"Oh my God," was all I could say as we rounded the corner and the academy rolled into our sight.

I had never seen so many trainers in my life before. Not even at peak time in the busiest Pokemon Centres. Not even clamouring around a trainer with a rare Pokemon. Not even congregating in front of a televised Elite Four battle. Everywhere I looked I saw gaggles of trainers, all different ages, some with Pokemon at their heels, some without, some in excited, jostling groups, and others standing on their own. My eyes swept up and down the ranks of trainers, my mouth hanging open like an ensnared Magikarp.

"I didn't realise it was going to be _this _popular…" I heard Bailey say nervously from beside me.

"Me neither…" I admitted.

Nikki squeaked nervously from behind me, but Elliot, Jasmine and Scott all looked totally at ease. In fact, Scott crossed his arms and looked, almost hungrily, at the trainers in front of him. "This is nothing." He said decisively. "I bet I could beat everybody here,"

"Don't get cocky," Elliot reminded him good-naturedly, before turning to me. "Well, Sienna… you wanted training… Looks like you got it,"

"I'm gonna be careful what I wish for from now on…" I remarked.

We began the lengthy queuing process to get signed up for the tournament. The proctors insisted on having us in single file, and somehow, I got sandwiched right at the front of my group, behind another young girl and in front of Scott. As the line suddenly moved without my realising it, I stumbled and hit straight into the girl in front of me. She squeaked in surprise and immediately turned around to look at me.

"Sorry, sorry!" I apologised hastily, waving my arms back and forth. "We're kinda squashed up like sardines in here, huh?"

The girl smiled slightly, her unusual cobalt blue eyes glittering in the wan morning sun. She played nervously with a lock of bronze hair, and smoothed down the folds of her thick black hoodie. "Y-yeah. We kinda are…" she said in a soft, demure voice.

I smiled at her. "This your first time at one of these?"

She looked a little distant at this point, her eyes flitting to the side, like standing here talking to me was the last thing she wanted to be doing. For a few long and painful seconds, neither of us said or did anything. Eventually, she swallowed and seemed to gather herself again."Yes, it is actually."

"Me too," I tried to say as warmly as possible. "I thought it would be good training, you know?"

She nodded, but said nothing else.

"I'm Sienna, by the way." I said, holding my hand out to her.

"M-Melinda." She said, taking my hand and shaking it awkwardly and briefly.

"Nice to meet you," I grinned. I then looked up and down the line, trying to figure out if she was with anyone. "Are you here on your own?"

"Y-yeah."

"I'm with a bunch of my friends," I jerked my thumb over my shoulder, hopefully indicating the rest of my travelling party. "We're all entering."

"I heard a lot of really tough trainers are entering this year. N-not that I'm worried or anything," she added nervously.

"I heard that too," I nodded. "But I _am _worried…" I admitted, scratching the back of my neck.

Melinda opened her mouth again, as if to say something more, but then all of a sudden the line surged and separated, as another sign-up desk suddenly opened up. Melinda squeaked slightly as the desk was suddenly open for her to sign up.

"Good luck," I said as she took a step forward. "Maybe you and I will end up battling?"

"M-maybe…" She said, turning around mid-step and offering me a small smile. "I'll look forward to it."

Only a few moments after Melinda left, it was my turn. After signing up and having my details logged and recorded both digitally and on paper, I was forcibly separated from the rest of my party, and ushered straight into the academy. I followed the signs helpfully pinned up along the corridors, and eventually emerged into a giant room that reminded me suspiciously of a school gym hall. A bored looking proctor then told me I was to wait there in the hall until the sign-ups finished at nine o'clock, where we would be briefed on what would be happening. With nothing else to do, I shuffled away and took in the unbelievable sight before me.

The sheer number of trainers had shocked me enough when I saw them outside, but now seeing them all crammed in together in this enclosed space made it seem even more intimidating. I crept slowly through the ranks of trainers, not wanting to disturb anyone or bring attention to myself. It was eerily quiet, despite the number of trainers sin the room.

It suddenly occurred to me that every single person in this room was now officially my competition, and I swallowed an oppressive lump that had just formed in my throat. Nervously I glanced around, while stealing an unoccupied space between a couple of trainers that appeared to be on their own. With a spot secure, I surveyed my competition. My first overwhelming impression was that there were a lot of girls. Most of them were giggly, screechy types, most of them not looking any older than twelve or thirteen. Oddly enough, there seemed to be only one boy for every five or six girls, but as I scanned the ranks further, I realised just the sheer variety of people here. Sure, there were lots of young teenagers, but I was surprised to see young kids, older teenagers, young adults in their mid-to-late twenties, and even some people that looked like they were married and had a family themselves.

All of a sudden, a cheesy pop song began playing overhead. I looked up stupidly, and blinked a few times, before chastising my idiocy, realising it was coming from speakers nearby. Another noise from my left startled me, and I glanced across to see a young man, almost comically tall and broad to match, with a shock of spiky brown hair that bobbed up and down with every movement he made. He was singing along idly to the pop hit on the radio, rolling a Pokeball in his palm as he did so. He had a rather dazed, bemused look on his face however that I couldn't help but smile at.

I looked to my right out of curiosity. It was mostly girls, all in groups, and I had to admit, they looked fairly unimpressive, and rather unthreatening if I was brutally honest. However, my eyes travelled past the main scrum of youngsters, until they landed on the figure of another girl. I had to fight to keep back a gasp. _She _was nothing like the others. She stood right to the back, as if she was trying to distance herself and avoid everyone around her. I squinted, trying to get a better look at her. She was wearing a simple, yet flattering and eye-catching purple dress that flowed around her ankles. Long white blonde hair was skimming her delicate face, one eye obscured by a sweeping fringe. The eye that was visible however, I realised with an involuntary squeak, was firmly fixated on me.

I found myself wanting to tear my gaze away, but I couldn't. It wasn't as if she was just merely _looking _at me, it was like she was staring at me. It was a strange, probing stare that made a peculiar shudder run down my spine. It almost felt like she was staring into my soul, like she was trying to figure out everything about me that could be told from appearance alone. Feeling a little awkward, I inclined my head to the ground.

There was still no sign of Elliot or the others, so I tried to find some way to distract myself until they appeared. I swept my gaze around the people surrounding me again; trying to spot people I anticipated could possibly give me trouble in the tournament. A lot of people had Pokemon out for company, and thankfully, and quite surprisingly, they were all behaving themselves impeccably. I saw common, uncommon and rare Pokemon alike, and some that I hadn't even seen before. I assumed they must have been Pokemon from other regions, but even that made me think. This competition really must be worth something if it was attracting so many trainers from other regions…

Trying to keep myself looking cool and collected, I kept looking around. I found myself looking in particular at a thin and petite young girl, with the strangest deep blue hair I had ever seen, lovingly hand-feed a rather vicious-looking Mightyena. I grimaced and took a few steps back. You would think I would be used enough to Mightyena, my mother breeding dog Pokemon like she does, but that was exactly why I was wary. I knew what those kind of Pokemon were capable of. At that point, I remembered reading something in some magazine about a study conducted that trainers often picked Pokemon that were in some way representative of their own personalities. And looking at this girl with her small, heart-shaped face and delicate features, I was beginning to wonder if there was more to _this _particular girl than met the eye.

I moved my gaze, suddenly afraid I would be caught staring and looked at another girl. This particular girl had a jolly looking Pikachu on her shoulder, and the girl herself from a distance looked simply like an explosion of blue, green and purple. The Pikachu was playing with locks of her long brown hair that were currently jammed under a cute blue and green beanie hat, and the girl was giggling happily at her Pokemon's affection. I found myself smiling, but a stab of nerves still permeated through. I knew cutesy appearances weren't always representative of the person underneath. For all I knew, that could be an Elite standing there.

Nervousness was beginning to get the better of me now, and I wrung my hands together. I was really starting to wish the others would hurry up and rejoin me. I hated standing so long on my own. "What is taking them so long…?" I muttered to myself darkly. "How long does it take to sign up, for goodness' sake?"

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, you know?"

I almost jumped six feet in the air as the voice sounded, and I whipped around to locate its source. The only likely candidate it came from was a boy, whom I hadn't even noticed up until now, standing only a few feet away from me. His brown eyes flashed with mischievousness as he manoeuvred his thin body through the ranks of trainers to stand next to me. "Nerves getting the better of you?"

"I… I wouldn't say _that_," I remedied hastily. "Believe you me; I've dealt with a lot worse. My friends are just taking forever to get here."

"Hmm," the boy said offhandedly, casting a glance towards the slow trickle of incoming trainers, none of which were any of my friends. He looked for only a moment or two, before turning his attention back to me. "First time at one of these things?"

"Yeah. Yourself?"

"You could say that," he said smoothly. "I don't generally go in for these types of things,"

"Uh-huh…" I said warily, wondering what exactly it was he was getting at.

"Oh, but where are my manners?" he said with a sudden smile. He seemed to ooze charm and charisma as he tipped the blue hat sitting confidently on top of his silvery black hair, before holding out a hand. "Name's Crow. Crow Arabesque."

It took a lot of self-restraint for me to not crack a smile at his unusual name, but I accepted his hand with a firm handshake. "Sienna Volbeda,"

"Nice to meet you," he said, and I quickly returned the pleasantry.

With that, he opened his mouth as if it to say something else, but all of a sudden seemed to think better of it. He pointed behind my shoulder, still wearing a slightly mischievous smile. "Looks like your friends finally caught up to you,"

"Huh?" I turned around, and to my surprise, Crow was right. I could see Nikki, Jasmine, Bailey, Elliot and Scott threading their way through the crowd and making their way up to me. I turned around, my mouth slightly hanging open, to face Crow again.

"I'll leave you to it," he grinned. "I hope you and I cross paths again, Sienna. Perhaps we might even get a chance to battle,"

"I'll hold you to it," I replied as he turned his back and disappeared into the crowd again. I lost sight of him almost immediately, but I didn't even get a chance to figure out where he went as the others suddenly appeared next to me, apologising for the wait.

"What on earth took you so long?" I asked, putting my arms around Elliot's neck in a brief hug, and shaking my head at the rest of them.

"Computer fault," Elliot said, rolling his eyes and kissing my forehead softly. "Stupid technology," he murmured.

I shook my head, and quickly faked being upset. I had to admit, playing up to Elliot could be quite fun at times. "I was standing in here on my own with all these trainers like an idiot for ages thought…" I said, drawing my voice into a slightly teasing whine.

"Aww, such a shame," Scott deadpanned, shooting me a look before Elliot could even open his mouth. "Didn't realise you needed someone to hold your hand through every little thing you do."

I frowned at him, before taking my arms away from Elliot, no longer in the mood to play around. I busied myself by reassessing the crowds. All of a sudden, it was apparent there were a lot more people than there had been even ten minutes ago, if that was even possible. The place had been crammed enough as it was. "There's a lot of people here, isn't there?" I said to no-one in particular.

"Record numbers, apparently." Elliot said offhandedly. "But they should be starting soon, so—"

It was at that exact moment that a sudden sharp static noise screeched across the hall we were in, causing several shrieks of pain and surprise from unsuspecting humans and Pokemon alike. A portly man in a bright red jacket, oddly reminiscent of a ringmaster's outfit, suddenly appeared behind a podium and began addressing the crowds.

"Welcome! _Welcome_ to the annual Violet City Pokemon Tournament!"

Applause and cheering suddenly broke out from the crowds, so I clapped along, mainly for the fact I didn't want to be the odd one out. I didn't feel like cheering. All of a sudden, I wasn't feeling excited or nervous any more; I was feeling a little distant, like this situation and I didn't quite sync up together anymore.

"I am so glad, so _glad_, to see record numbers of trainers here this year!" The man boomed jovially into the microphone. "Unfortunately, _unfortunately_, with so many trainers this year, I regret to announce that we cannot go straight into the tournament as we would like."

An explosion of disgust and annoyance broke out among the trainers, but they were silenced immediately when the man started talking again. "Instead though, _instead_, we have decided to hold a series of preliminary rounds to find the top twenty trainers in among you today!"

"Preliminaries…?" I murmured softly. "What on earth will they be…?"

"So in order, _in order,_ to whittle down our competitors to the top twenty, every trainer that has signed up will have to participate in three very challenging tasks! Tasks that will test the very integrity and ingenuity of every single person here! Not only, _not only_, as Pokemon trainers, but as individuals, and _people_."

A resounding groan sounded around me, and I felt Nikki tense.

"The first challenge, yes, the first challenge will take you right back to the beginning of your journeys, and test you on the absolute basic skills of any rookie Pokemon trainer!" the announcer said merrily. "You will have twenty targets, yes, twenty _moving _targets, that you must hit with Pokeballs! Sounds simple, right?"

I found myself nodding.

"Well, it's not!" the announcer said, shattering my optimism. "Indeed, it's not! All three tasks will be timed! Only trainers that clock up the lowest overall times for all three tasks will be permitted to enter the battles! For every one target that you miss, you will be given a ten second penalty! _And _if you miss any more than _half _the targets, yes if you miss _ten _targets, you will be _disqualified _and you will not be able to proceed to the next round!"

Above the worried groans, a commanding male voice suddenly rose up and challenged the announcer. "What _is _the next round?"

I looked across to see the challenger standing with one arm up in the air, waving it slightly to gain attention. It was a young man, with olive skin, long unruly black hair and who towered above most everyone else here at the very _least, _six feet tall. I fought back a gasp as I realised his arms were bandaged from the elbows down. I wondered if he had an injury or a condition that had caused that. With all eyes suddenly on him, he lowered his bandaged arms and folded them across his chest.

The announcer wasn't fazed at the interruption and carried on blithely. "It's simple, my dear boy, it is simple! The next challenge is Pokemon first aid!"

Another resounding groan. This one sounded even louder and more pained than the first.

"Your task, yes, your task is…" he paused, as if for dramatic effect. "… to administer first aid to a sick and injured Rattata! You must give the injured Pokemon a Revive, a Super Potion and then a Full Heal, in that order, yes, in that order specifically! Then, once the Pokemon is healed, you must transport it to the Pokemon Centre for official release!"

A general murmur of consensus rang out, while I squeezed Elliot's hand for his attention. "That should be easy… right?"

Elliot looked at me. "Don't count on it," he said darkly. "Rattata, remember? Those things are wild. You'll be scratched and bitten to pieces before you get a chance to give it _any _medicine at all after the Revive. Even if you can get it to take the stuff, you don't have a hope in hell in carrying it back. It'll escape before you even know what's happening."

"Oh…" I said slowly, understanding now the possible complications that could arise from that particular challenge.

"And the final challenge, yes the _final challenge_…"

"I am going to strangle him if he doesn't stop talking like that," Scott muttered darkly, his hand clenched around one of his Pokeballs.

"… is a campside challenge!" the announcer cried out with relish after a prolonged pause. "Now, you must, you _must_ pitch a tent! You must light a fire! And you mustcatch a Magikarp! Sounds easy, right?"

"_Is his definition of easy the same as mine…_?" I wondered in shock.

"Well, it's not! It most certainly is _not_! the announcer grinned in a malicious sort of way. "As I said, ladies and gentlemen, as I said, in all three of these challenges, you're timed! Yes, that's right, you are _timed_! Only the twenty people who clock up the lowest overall times will move on to the battles round! In the first challenge, as I said, yes in the first challenge, you have a ten second penalty for each target you miss and a chance of disqualification if you lose too many targets. In the second round, if your Rattata escapes before you have the chance to give it the medicine, you are immediately disqualified! If you administer the medicine in any order apart from Revive, Super Potion and Full Heal, you will _also _be immediately disqualified!"

I was really starting to hate the relish and sheer delight this man seemed to take in saying the word "disqualified".

"In the final round, in the final round, if your fire and tent do not match the standards that the proctors expect, you will be immediately disqualified. And of course, if you don't catch a Magikarp… you're also immediately disqualified."

"Oh my God…" I murmured, sinking my head into my hands. "Why…? Why are we all doing this again?"

"Oh yes, one more thing, yes, one more thing…" the announcer added slowly. "I have one more rule for you all."

"_Another rule_?" I thought in despair. This was already shaping up to be next to impossible; how could I handle any more goddamn _rules_?

"Throughout all three of these challenges, all three challenges, the use of Pokemon to assist you…" the announcer paused, surveying all of us. "Is strictly _forbidden_."

My heart stopped. "WHAT!" I bellowed. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one. Almost every other trainer in the room had cried out in outrage and was now protesting angrily.

"That's right! That's right!" the announcer was laughing. "You must complete the challenges assigned to you without the assistance of your Pokemon! These challenges are designed to test the integrity and ingenuity of trainers! We cannot accept trainers to compete here unless we know they are competent, even without the assistance of their friends and Pokemon!"

I looked up at the sky, wanting the ground to rise up and swallow me whole.

"_Next time I want to get myself involved with something like this, someone, please Arceus, someone just shoot me, okay?"_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, I finally updated. You have no idea the hell I've been through with this chapter :O**

**Well, this marks the official start of the Battle Tournament Arc. Not many of the OC's have been introduced yet. (It was basically a draw names out of a hat situation to see which ones got screen time first in this chapter, cos I couldn't make a decision myself). Some OC's have been alluded to, but not named, and I've only introduced two properly. Next chapter, all the accepted OC's will be introduced. A full list of OCs will also be posted next chapter, along with some more additional information.**

**I don't really have much time or space to reply to everyone's reviews individually, but special thanks go to:**

**Sniper Mudkip, Shadow Serenity 57, I have a dictonairy here, WOWFan123, May and Dawn are the best, FindMe215, WarriorSwift, ArchXDeath, TwewyReaperGirl, TCoBlackRoses, WildCroconaw, Aeroga, Zoeten and purplefan9639. **

**Updates will be slow henceforth as this arc is going to be EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for me to write. I just ask for your continued patience. **

**Thank you for reading :) **


	23. Panic at the Preliminaries! Part I

"And now, yes, and now we will begin the first preliminary round! If you'll all follow, yes, follow the proctors through into the next room, you will be assigned numbers at random, yes at random, to determine the order you will compete in!"

No sooner had the final word left the announcer's lips; the crowds immediately surged forward, catching me and the others unexpectedly in its movement. The various official looking proctors began ushering us into an adjoining room, their voices still managing to soar above the excited high-pitched chatter. The next room was of a similar size and setup, with several tables at the end of the room, each with an official seated behind it. However, I didn't get a chance to scrutinize anything any further as immediately, we were cajoled into lines and the announcer's booming voice began ringing in our ears.

"You will undertake the first preliminary, yes, you will undertake the first preliminary in groups of ten trainers at a time, and you will draw numbers, yes, draw numbers to determine your position!"

I zoned out at this point as the buzz of conversation from all the surrounding trainers was succeeding in even drowning out the excited booming of the announcer. One part of me was telling me to try and listen out for the instructions so I would know what I was doing, but another part was telling me that it was only throwing Pokeballs at moving targets, how difficult could that be?

"Once you get your, yes, once you get your number, please go and stand next to the corresponding number card at the other side of the room,"

As we lined up and slowly moved forward, I turned my head to the other side of the room out of interest and saw a huge collection of score cards set out on the floor. I squinted, trying to count them, but it was impossible to make out the numbers written on them. The only thing I could identify was that there were five rows of these cards on the floor.

"Sienna, your turn," I heard someone say behind me as the line thinned unexpectedly. Before I knew what was happening, someone had dug me in the back, pushing me forward towards one of the sign-up desks.

Nervously I gave my name, and was handed a small circle of paper pulled from what looked suspiciously like a fishbowl on the edge of the desk. I glanced at it, seeing the number 37 staring back at me in thick black ink. After being directed towards the number cards littering the floor, I shot a nervous look back at the rest of my friends, all still squashed in line. As I left, Jasmine approached the sign up desk, looking wholly unbothered, like the whole thing was a simple walk in the park.

"Number thirty-seven… number thirty-seven…" I mused to myself, threading myself in and out of the numbered cards littering the floor. I was one of the first trainers to take their position, so I had an eagle-eye view of the few trainers that already stood in their positions. The blonde haired girl with the long purple dress was standing stoically near the front, and another girl, right at the back also caught my eye. She looked young, with a rounded, baby face, chestnut hair pulled back into childish pigtails with folds of a white and red dress billowing around her short stature. She stood right at the end of the final line, and as I glanced at the number next to her, realised that the numbers went all the way up to fifty exactly…

"_Fifty competitors…_" the number sounded strangely huge as I considered it. "_That's a lot of trainers… so that means thirty of us won't even make it to the battle stages… That's less than a fifty percent chance of qualifying…_"

I took my position nervously next to the numbered card 37 and waited, only somewhat patiently. Slowly, the lines began to fill up. Jasmine took a front line position, number three, meaning she would be one of the first to compete. Elliot took a place in the mid-twenties, while Nikki also ended up in the front line at what I assumed was number nine. Scott ended up behind me, somewhere in the late forties, while Bailey took position number thirty-one, and waved at me eagerly from down the line. I swallowed nervously as the positions slowly filled.

The two positions to my left and right were some of the last to be filled. Both however, were filled by young men. The one to my left had messy brown hair, a freckled face and a nonchalant, carefree expression, his hands casually buried in the deep pockets of a pair of well-worn cargo pants. The boy to my right however was a completely different. Thick locks of blonde hair fell over his face, and his confident, self-assured body language made me automatically shrink away from him. The deep set frown and the billowing cloak he was wearing didn't help my nerves either. A lump the size of a walnut formed in my throat that quickly became impossible to swallow down.

"_There are a lot of… colourful people here…_" I thought to myself, my mind touching on all the trainers I had seen today. I thought of shy Melinda, the charmer that was Crow, the mysterious blonde haired girl with the probing stare, the cocky boy with the bandaged arms, the girl with the midnight blue hair and the vicious Mightyena, the girl all in purple, blue and green, and finally that childish little soul with the chestnut pigtails I had seen earlier… I felt an inexplicable shudder go down my spine. The atmosphere was tight and tense here… I didn't like it much at all.

I jumped as all of a sudden the announcer's voice boomed above us again. "And now, yes, and now, could the trainers with numbers one to ten, yes with numbers one to ten, please make their way outside for the first challenge!"

"Good luck Nikki and Jasmine…" I murmured to myself as the first line broke away from the rest of us and headed outside. I saw Nikki wringing her hands together nervously, biting her lip furiously, her already pale face whitening further. Even Jasmine was frowning slightly, her hands pulling at a strand of long blonde hair, a tell-tale nervous trait of hers. I let out a quick sigh, wondering if they were going to be okay. I then cast a glance at the overhead clock, now showing the time slowly creeping up to ten o'clock. I murmured and shifted positions in my space. I couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for all the preliminaries to be over.

With nothing else to do, I glanced to my left, and suddenly caught the eye of the boy standing there at. To my shock, he shot me a smile and I blinked in surprise, before shakily managing to return it.

"Hopefully these preliminaries won't take too long, huh?" He asked, his tone of voice light and conversational, a smile breaking out on his freckled face. "I really just want to get into the battling!"

I nodded, my mouth suddenly going dry. I was suddenly painfully aware that I had spoken to more strangers in the past two hours than I had in the past _year_. I was surprised at how friendly some of these people were; especially considering this _was _a massive competition after all. "Me too," I eventually managed to croak in return.

"Only twenty out of the fifty competitors here can make it to the battles, though…" he said, turning his head in a pondering look. "That's less than half of us… It's gonna be tough. I heard this is the first year they've had to do something like this. You know, the preliminaries,"

I nodded.

"I came all the way from Mahogany Town for this, you know?" the boy continued, shifting the weight of the dark blue backpack he carried on his shoulders as he spoke. "I'd hate to have come all this way for nothing,"

"Yeah, that'd be a pain…"

The boy smiled. "Where are you from?"

"Pallet Town."

"Kanto, huh?" he sounded impressed. "And Pallet Town as well? Lot of famous people come from Pallet Town…"

"Don't I know it," I said with a short laugh. It was kind of ironic. A lot of people who rose to fame or glory in recent years had originally came from Pallet Town. Even me, who, albeit secretly, had a hand with saving the world once, came from Pallet Town. As this peculiar thought hit me, I was suddenly aware of a pair of probing eyes coming to rest on me. The cloaked boy to my right was staring, making no secret of the fact he was listening in to the conversation I was having either.

"Name's Luca Hollingsworth," the freckle faced boy suddenly said, holding out a hand.

"Sienna Volbeda," I said, shaking his hand briefly.

"Kinda weird to think we're competition, yet we're acting so nice to one another, don't you think?" he said, with another cheery laugh.

"Yeah, funny how that works." I smiled,

"There are a lot of strong trainers entering this year." Luca then said, casting his blue eyes around the forty remaining people. "We can't even tell who they are just by looking at them either…"

I nodded, echoing his concerns. You really _couldn't _tell just from appearances which of these trainers were the rumoured strong trainers, and which ones were novices, or even rookies. For all I knew, that scary looking cloaked boy next to me could be a total amateur. However, somehow I seriously doubted it…

"So, Sienna, right?" Luca suddenly ventured. "Are you one of these strong trainers I keep hearing so much about?"

"Huh?" I faltered. "I… I'm not sure…"

"Ah, you should've said yes." He said with a slight smile. "Intimidate your competition, even if you _are _bluffing. Psychology, you know?"

"Uhh…"

"So, what Pokemon do you have on you just now?"

I managed to pull myself together enough to quip back "That's for me to know and you to find out,"

He smiled delightedly. "That's better. "

Luca and I talked for quite some time while we waited for our line to be called out for the first preliminary. Elliot kept turning around to smile at me from the other end of the room, but he was also engaged in conversation with his two neighbours: a young man of about 6 foot tall with shoulder length blue hair, and another boy with messy brown hair and square-set glasses. Bailey was also happily chattering away to one of his neighbours, a young woman with silvery white hair tied back in a tight ponytail.

Luca had quite a lot to say for himself, and I was so wrapped up in the conversation he had engaged me in that I almost didn't even notice the second line of trainers, which included Elliot, being instructed to go outside for the first challenge. My heart leapt a little. It would soon be my turn. I wonder how well Nikki and Jasmine had fared, and how Elliot would be getting on.

Time ticked on, and before I knew it though, we were told to leave for outside. Nervously, we made our way outside into the fresh air again, into the giant grounds of the academy, and were faced with what I honestly likened to a collection of shooting ranges, almost like the kind you would see at a funfair or a carnival. Ten individual ranges had been set up, and the targets, strangely shaped like the silhouette of a Pidgey, were moving almost impossibly fast and erratically across the rails of the range.

"That looks tough," I heard a familiar voice to my left say, and as I turned to it, saw Bailey and the young woman with the silver white hair approaching me.

"Bailey," I said in surprise, turning to him.

"Hey, Sienna." He said, shooting me a light-hearted smile. "Looks kinda tough, this whole thing, doesn't it?"

"One of your friends?" Luca inquired politely.

"Bailey is," I said, indicating the boy, before nervously looking at the silver haired girl. "I, umm, don't know you though…"

"Celeste," the young silver haired woman said, offering her hand. She had a soft, musical, almost whimsical voice. "Celeste Archos,"

Introductions were made, and the strange party of four we had somehow accumulated stood to the side as the final preparations were made. Celeste was a calm, soft-spoken girl with a cheerful easiness to her, chattering away to Luca, Bailey and myself like she'd known us all our life. I found myself enjoying the company of all the people I had met today. It was getting harder and harder to remember they were my competition…

However, the fact that I was, after all, entered into a _competition_ was very quickly remembered, as we were suddenly directed to the ranges. I was separated from Celeste, Bailey and Luca as I was ushered towards my range. They quickly bade me good luck, and I wished them the same. I genuinely did. I know that that may sound strange. Wishing people I had never met good luck for a competition I knew I wanted to win? Sounds mad, I know. But all the same… I liked those people. I wanted them to do well.

I weighed the Pokeball like capsules I was supposed to be throwing at the moving targets gingerly in my hands as I took my place. They were of the exact same size as a regular Pokeball, even the exact same design, but when I tried the release mechanism or the minimise function, nothing happened. The Pokeball also felt peculiarly weighted, a strange heaviness echoing through my hand. I tossed it up and down in my hands experimentally, finding gravity acted on it quicker than regular Pokeballs. It was only a subtle difference, but I knew it could have the potential to upset proceedings quite easily, securing the difference between a hit, and a miss, effortlessly.

"Here are, yes, here are your instructions!" the announcer boomed, making me jump and almost drop the capsule I was holding on my foot. "The targets will appear in regular intervals at first, but then will become steadily more, yes, steadily more irregular! They will be slow at first, yes, slow at first, but then will get faster and faster. Now, here is the important bit, yes here is the important bit! If you hesitate at a target and allow it to get away, that will also count as a miss! Remember that if you miss ten targets, you _will _be disqualified!"

"He loves that word disqualified, doesn't he…?" I muttered to myself, while glancing at Luca to my left. He looked entranced by the capsules, same as I had been. I looked to my left, and saw the cloaked boy standing idly, a rather bored look on his face, staring at the announcer, as if willing him to just start the preliminary and get on with it. A shock of nerves hit me. The competition was officially starting.

"Competitors, take your stance…"

I gripped the first capsule in my hand tightly, a cold sweat erupting all over my body.

"Get set…"

My body tensed up, the only movement coming from my trembling hands.

"And GO!"

I expected that as soon as the announcer shouted "Go!" that everything would descend into chaos, with the targets immediately flying across the shooting ranges, but it didn't. For a long time, nothing happened, and I stood there tensely, my body like a coiled spring, waiting for something, _anything,_ to happen. I heard angered mutterings coming from down the ranks as every single range in the vicinity stubbornly remained empty.

And then, after almost a full minute of waiting, a target suddenly shot up in the middle of the range. I let out a cry of surprise, and automatically hurled the capsule I was holding at the target without even attempting to aim. To my surprise, it sailed straight through the air and hit the target dead on. I blinked in surprise as it retracted, while shocked shouts and ferocious expletives erupted all around me.

I didn't even have time to contemplate what had just happened before another target appeared. The first had been stationary, but this one was moving, albeit slowly. I lunged for a spare capsule, took careful aim and threw it. This one also hit dead on.

I glanced at a small overhead screen that was above my head. It told me my complete time was just under thirty seconds, with two hits and no misses out of twenty thus far. However, as I glanced at a nearby competitor, I noticed a full ten seconds added onto their time. I winced. Two targets in and they had already missed one…

I couldn't focus on what the others were doing as the third target suddenly sprung up from nowhere. Again, I managed to hit this one reasonably fast, keeping my score perfect and my overall time fairly low. This continued for the next ten targets, which ranged from being practically stationary, to moving moderately fast. I hit every target given to me with little difficulty. My heart soared with every target I hit. With thirteen targets hit already, there was no way I could be disqualified from the first preliminary! All I had to do now was keep my overall time down! Dare I say that it this was actually_ easy_?

And then came the fourteenth target.

It inched slowly across the rail, so anticipating another slow movement; I took my time in aiming the capsule. However, just as I threw the ball, the target's speed intensified, suddenly speeding up and completely sailing past my thrown projectile. My mouth hung open as the capsule I had thrown dropped uselessly to the ground.

I couldn't even think on it too much, as another target, this one moving at a frightening speed, suddenly dashed across the rail. Instantly, I had a thought and I aimed another ball just ahead of the target's path, instead of shooting directly at it. However, disaster struck once again. The target suddenly juddered to a halt, before moving _backwards _the way it had just came, evading my throw easily.

I swore. Repeatedly.

The sixteenth target was much the same, but at least this time, I hit it, if only just, the capsule skimming the edge of the target, but still knocking it down. The seventeenth was a hopeless miss, as the target moved erratically back and forth across a small area of the railings. The eighteenth shot across the railing in an almost undetectable blur, meaning I couldn't even _aim_, let alone attempt to throw the capsule. The nineteenth was a repeat of this, dare I say it, going even _faster _than the one previous. And finally, the twentieth, although it moved comparably slower than its predecessors, was also a miss, but for a completely different reason. My frustrations at the previous misses got the better of me, and as soon as I saw the target, merely hurled the ball, throwing all caution to the wind. The ball veered completely off course, sailing straight above the target and almost colliding with a nosy proctor coming to investigate the scores.

I grimaced as I stood up to straighten my body. I had hit only fourteen out of the twenty offered targets, giving me a full minute's penalty onto a time of four minutes and twenty-three seconds, giving me a total time of five minutes twenty three. I had no idea if that was good or not compared to the scores of any other competitors, as no sooner had my game concluded, I was directed away into another room of the academy. I didn't even have a chance to reconvene with Luca, Bailey or the Celeste girl that was following him around.

I did however meet up again with Elliot, Nikki and Jasmine as I entered the comparably cosier room of the academy we were instructed to sit in, decked out with comfortable seats and a table of refreshments. I grabbed a glass of orange juice before threading my way into the crowd and taking a seat with my two friends.

"How'd you guys get on?" I inquired, sitting down heavily next to them.

"Jasmine did really well!" Nikki gushed at once. "She got _sixteen _targets!"

"Sixteen!" I repeated shrilly, after taking a long draught of juice.

Jasmine smiled. "What can I say; I've got good hand-eye co-ordination!"

"I only got eleven…" Nikki said nervously. "I was so close to failing but I managed to catch the last target. Just."

"I got fourteen," I said, crossing my legs and leaning back in the chair.

"Fifteen," Elliot said with a satisfied nod.

"I heard anything within the range of twelve to fourteen is the average score," Nikki suddenly interjected.

"Looks like we're all just about safe, then…" I said. "So long as Bailey and Scott do okay…"

"I got thirteen!" a cheerful voice said above us, and we turned around to be faced with Bailey, cheesily on cue as always, but minus Celeste. He collapsed into a chair next to Jasmine, shooting her a good natured smile. "Well done everybody,"

"Just gotta wait for Scott now," Nikki pointed out, her face painted with worry. I smiled. The last person any of us had to worry about was her little brother.

"Shouldn't be too long," Elliot had to raise his voice as the chatter suddenly erupted around us again. "They're setting it up for the last lot already, look…"

I glanced out one of the large windows and surely enough I saw the proctors resetting the ranges and ushering the final few stragglers from the last round back inside. As I glanced around the forty or so other unfamiliar faces, wondering if I could catch sight of the few people I was on first name basis with, I noticed Crow, sprawled back in a seat at the other end of the room. He smiled, tipped his blue hat to me once again, and then continued to engage the nervous looking girl in the purple fitting jacket he was sitting next to in enthusiastic conversation.

"Everyone here is so nice," I found myself saying, thinking of Luca, and Crow and Melinda. "It's difficult to remember they're all competition…"

"You're forgetting Sienna; technically _we're _all in competition with _each other_." Jasmine pointed out.

"Oh my God…" I said, turning my face to Jasmine. "That didn't… that didn't even _occur _to me! What if we end up battling each other?"

"We do our best, regardless of the opponent." Elliot said, taking a thoughtful mouthful of his juice. "If we don't do our best against our opponents, friends or otherwise, that's not fair on you, or the opponents."

"True…" I said softly.

There was a moment's silence. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of that previously. What was going to happen if I ended up battling someone like Nikki or Bailey? They weren't experienced trainers, or even _confident _battlers… I didn't know if I'd feel right having to go all out against them… And as for battling Elliot or Scott… I knew that I likely wouldn't stand a chance against either of them. Jasmine was more of a grey area. Personally, I felt she was of the same calibre as me, but then again, I didn't know. I hadn't seen Nikki battle in a long time, and as for Bailey, he could easily surprise me. And considering all the problems I was having with battling lately, could I even put up a fight against them…? Against _any _of them? They were my friends… Yes, I knew their weaknesses and shortcomings, but I also knew just how skilled and strong they could be too…

Time passed almost intolerably slowly for the final group of people to undertake the first preliminary, and we didn't even get a chance to reconvene with Scott when they finished, as we were ushered back outside for the results to be announced.

"And here, yes, here are the results for the first preliminary!" the announcer boomed, his jolly voice already beginning to grate on my nerves. "In pole position, with the only perfect score, yes the _only _perfect score of twenty out of twenty is competitor number thirty six! Jade Black!"

"_Competitor number thirty-six!" _I thought in shock as shocked murmurings erupted around me. "_But that was… that was the guy next to _me!"

And sure enough, right at the head of the group, the cloaked blonde haired boy that had stood next to me, slowly nodded his head at his mention from the announcer, lapping up the praise that was then heaped on him. I blinked slowly.

"Jade Black…" I heard Elliot say from next to me. "That's a name to look out for…"

"Just because someone does well in the preliminaries doesn't mean they're going to be a good _battler…_" Scott interjected, sounding a little irritated. I then found out that Scott had hit nineteen of the targets, and had missed out on the last one by a miss of barely a centimetre. I grimaced. For Scott, anything less than perfection was not acceptable.

"True, true…"

"And now, for the sad news, yes, the sad news…" the announcer continued. "Unfortunately, yes unfortunately, we have a few disqualifications to report."

A murmur of worry spread through the crowds.

"So, competitors twenty-five, eighteen, twelve and seven, you have all missed too many targets, and have thereby been disqualified."

As the four disqualified competitors silently trudged out, the announcer cleared his throat again. "Now begins the second preliminary, the Pokemon first aid round. Please everyone make your way back inside where you will be directed to the next room."

We dutifully followed the people back inside, where we were led into a completely different room, with what looked like thirty work stations set up across the polished floors.

"Please, everyone take a number, yes take a number, and find the corresponding work bench,"

After lining up for another five minutes or so, and pulling out a numbered square from the proffered bowl, I opened it up to see the number thirty-two staring back at me. I sighed. I seemed to be attracting the thirties today. I wished the others good luck, before seeking out the work station with number '32' on it.

I was surprised when I realised that each work station was divided into two parts, each one with a different number. As I settled myself behind work station 32, it became obvious. We'd be working across from someone else. I swallowed. I wondered who would be there working opposite me at bench number 33. At that point, I prayed it would be someone nice, or someone that I had already met, and preferably _not _that Jade Black person I had been standing next to earlier. He intimidated me more than I cared to admit…

As I waited, I consulted what lay in front of me. Three identical unlabelled bottles stood to the left of the work station, leaving a sizeable gap on the table for what I could only assume would be the space to work on the injured Ratatta. I investigated the bottles, finding them to be full of liquid. It came to me. These were the Revive, Full Heal and Super Potion. But they were unlabelled… How was I supposed to administer medicine if I didn't even know which one was which!

As I panicked over this, and the announcer was dealing with some technical difficulties regarding his microphone, a girl suddenly appeared opposite me. I blinked in surprise as she stepped up opposite me and consulted the number. The first thing I noticed about her was her bright red hair, not a natural auburn shade like mine, but a brilliant, eye-catching bright red. Obviously dyed, and ostentatious as it was, seemed to complement her thin, pale figure, and dark blue eyes, even if it clashed somewhat violently with her vibrant blue shorts, red tank top and neon yellow rucksack.

She dumped her yellow rucksack down with a flourish and approached the desk confidently, slamming her hands down firmly on the wood, before eyeing me suspiciously. She raised one eyebrow at me, before demanding "What are you staring at?"

"N-nothing!" I said, flustered.

"Hmph," she muttered, suddenly producing a bottle of water from seemingly nowhere and taking a long draught from it. "You shouldn't stare. It's rude."

Her tone of voice didn't hold any traces of unpleasantness or maliciousness; she spoke calmly and officially, as if merely stating fact. However, I still had to bite my tongue to stop myself from snipping back with my own snappy retort. Instead, I simply nodded and directed my eyes towards the work desk again.

"So, what's your name then?"

"Huh?" I looked up again, confused.

"We're gonna be waiting a while," she remarked, jerking her head in the direction of the announcer still struggling with the technical stuff, the short spikes of her cropped hair bobbing along with her. "Might as well talk. Nothing else to do."

I blinked slowly.

"So, your name?"

Despite myself, I couldn't stop myself from saying "Well, I always thought it was polite to offer your own name before asking for someone else's."

Her lips curled into a frown, but she seemed to bite back whatever it was she wanted to say. "Selphiline Laney. But _you _can call me Selphie,"

My head swum with the effort of trying to retain the unusual name in my head. I was glad she offered the relatively normal Selphie in substitute. The amount of new names I was having to remember was starting to get the better of me.

"So I believe it's your turn now?"

"Indeed," I said with a short smile. "Sienna. Sienna Volbeda."

"That's an unusual last name," she stated, crossing her arms firmly.

"Dutch." I remarked. "On my paternal grandfather's side,"

"Good for you." She deadpanned, before casting a harassed look towards the announcer, still flapping and fussing over the microphone. "Ugh, I'm so bored… What's so difficult about setting up a microphone?"

I shook my head in response, and looked up to the sky as if for guidance, grimacing slightly. I wasn't even halfway through the preliminaries and I was already in despair. I just prayed that things would get easier and that somehow I, and the rest of my friends, would sail through the preliminaries with flying colours and make it to the battle rounds without any trouble.

So why did I still have that unexplainable creepy-crawly feeling that told me that that _certainly _wouldn't be the case…?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, here's the update! Sorry it took so long, this arc, although fun to write, is so difficult!**

**Every OC has now been referenced or introduced. Every OC, I guarantee you, will get screen time next chapter! Promise! **

**Here is the list of OC's that have been accepted (and their owners):**

**Robyn Collier (me)  
><strong>**Zack Hennessy (me)  
><strong>**Luca Hollingsworth (Aeroga)  
><strong>**Sam (PKMNTrainerSam)  
><strong>**Chaison Coffman (Chaison)  
><strong>**Hikaru Brown (Hikaru-Pichu)  
><strong>**Melinda Hughes (KR Diva)  
><strong>**Alicia Nakamura (TwewyReaperGirl)  
><strong>**Natsuki Ikebana (roxiepluto)  
><strong>**Celeste Archos (WarriorSwift)  
><strong>**Grey Thomas (Brave Soul RMS)  
><strong>**Jade Black (Zoeten)  
><strong>**Selphiline "Selphie" Laney (Sunbean)  
><strong>**Crow Arabesque (Shadow of Eckhart)  
><strong>**Evan Gerald Garfunkel (Something Dictionary Related) **

**Thanks to everyone who read, and reviewed. Special thanks go to ShadowSerenity 57, WOWFan123, Hikaru-Pichu, WildCroconaw, WarriorSwift, Sunbean, FindMe215, ArchXDeath, roxiepluto, TwewyReaperGirl, Manser77, Brave Sould RMS and Shadow of Eckhart.**

**So, please keep reading and reviewing! Thanks guys! Until next time!**


	24. Panic at the Preliminaries! Part II

With technical difficulties proving to be more taxing for the announcer than at first thought, we were essentially just left to fend for ourselves until everything was sorted out. Trying to ignore Selphie's various complaints about being bored, I twisted my body around to see if I could notice any of my travelling party, or any of the various people I had met over the course of the day. To my astonishment, my eyes did indeed touch on a familiar face standing at only the next desk over.

"Melinda?"

The girl's skinny figure jumped as soon as her name was said, and she turned around to face me, her cobalt eyes widening. She stood there for a moment, and I caught sight of a flash of panic appear on her face, as if she was visibly struggling to remember my name. However, after a prolonged moment of awkwardness, a relieved look took hold of her and even a little smile appeared on her face. "Sienna!" she then stopped. "Right…?" she added uncertainly.

I had to laugh. "Yeah, that's me." I grinned, taking a step forward towards her. "You made it then, huh, Melinda?"

"Y-yeah! Just about," she nodded.

"Good," I smiled. "Just two more to get through… And then the battling rounds!"

While Melinda smiled and even looked a little excited at the prospect, it was quickly short-lived as a bossy commanding voice suddenly rang out.

"It's not gonna be as easy as that," Selphie cut in loudly, nothing more than a bright red blur suddenly invading my vision as she stepped towards us. "Only twenty of us are gonna make it to the final round. That means less than half of us."

Melinda looked a little downtrodden, but then, another explosion of colour suddenly permeated my peripheral vision as the girl who had been standing opposite Melinda suddenly emerged from behind the desk. I recognised her instantly as the girl all in blue, purple and green that I had seen at the beginning of the day. "B-but who's to say that we won't make it to the final twenty?" she asked quietly, her voice shaking a little.

I nodded vigorously. The girl, whoever she was, had an extremely valid point. There was every chance any of us could make it to the final twenty. We had as much chance as any person standing here right now. Once again, I nodded affirmatively towards the girl in blue, green and purple. "You're right," I said swiftly, my hopes once again somewhat raised.

Melinda nodded. "Yeah… I guess we've got about as much of a chance as anyone…"

At this point, Selphie, who up until now had been standing idly, her face slowly taking on a confused look, evidently could not hold onto her silence any longer. "Sorry, who are you?" she demanded of Melinda, her eyebrows furrowing together.

Melinda looked a little taken aback to be addressed so bluntly, but she cleared her throat and spoke confidently enough to the rather intimidating tomboy. "Melinda. Melinda Hughes. I, uh, I met Sienna earlier on. Are… are you a friend of hers?"

"No. We just met too," Selphie said, shooting me a strange look that could have met anything. I just smiled back uncertainly.

Evidently Melinda couldn't comprehend what was going on either, as she simply nodded and murmured something incomprehensible. Then there was a long silence. Eventually it was broken by the girl in blue, purple and green. She raised her hand and waved it around enthusiastically. "Umm, hi? I'm Hikaru Brown! You know, just in case anyone cares…"

Remembering my manners, I introduced myself, as did Selphie. Melinda and Hikaru were already on a first name basis, so the conversation dried up awkwardly quickly. However, I took advantage of this lull in conversation to mentally cycle through the motley collection of names and faces I had amassed throughout the day. As I finally straightened them all out in my head into some attempt of an order, I looked back up at the three girls and caught Hikaru's eye. As I did so, she adjusted her blue and green beanie hat over the locks of her dark brown hair, before clearing her throat and speaking up.

"How long do you think it'll take them to get set up?"

"Who knows…?" I mused, as the announcer began to wrestle with a long snake like cable, which he quickly hopelessly tangled himself up in. I grimaced. "Might be a long time by the look of him,"

"Not exactly the most competent of MCs, is he…?" Selphie asked snippily, leaning against the workstation, almost knocking over one of the unlabelled bottles in the process. She caught it effortlessly, before opening it and sniffing it experimentally.

"What even _is _this stuff…?" Melinda asked, while wrinkling her nose as the strong, surgical smell reached our nostrils, catching us at the back of our throats.

"I think it's the medicine we have to give the Rattata…" I said, frowning.

"But we can't tell which one is which!" Hikaru suddenly blurted out, her voice rising almost comically high in pitch.

"Call me psychic, but I think that's the point," Selphie grimaced, setting the bottle back on the table.

Melinda looked crushed at the suggestion, but Hikaru's face twisted into annoyance and she shook her fists up and down angrily, looking like she was fighting the urge to stamp her feet as well. "But that's not fair!" she cried, looking horrified.

"Newsflash, life isn't _meant _to be fair." Selphie deadpanned, stretching her limbs lazily.

Both Hikaru and Melinda's faces fell at Selphie's quick retorts, so I quickly intervened. "Don't mind her," I shot them a reassuring smile. "She's always like that,"

I ignored the snappy reply Selphie sent in my direction and conjured up another smile for Hikaru and Melinda. It seemed to the trick, as Hikaru nodded, seeming to get over Selphie's attitude much quicker than Melinda, who merely sighed and continued to look worried. Hikaru looked perfectly at ease, was poised on the tips of her feet, bouncing up and down slightly, with her hands firmly behind her back. "I hope we can start soon…" she trilled happily.

"Uh, yeah…" I said warily, unable to notice the sudden personality shift in the young girl as she brought her hands forward and hooked her thumbs into the pockets of her forest green cargo pants. "Me too actually."

"I'm a little nervous," Melinda suddenly admitted. "The last preliminary was hard. This one is going to be even harder. If we use the wrong medicine in the wrong order, we're gonna get disqualified. And if we can't tell what bottle is which…" she trailed off, looking worried.

"I'm not worried," Selphie said confidently, bringing herself back into the conversation. "The chemical make up of all the medicines are really different from each other. I can tell the difference."

"How?" Hikaru asked excitedly.

"Well, I like science so it's easy for me," Selphie said with an airy shrug. "And of course, all the medicines smell, look and taste differently, even to humans. Surely you've all given Pokemon medicine before? You can't tell me you've _never _given emergency aid to a Pokemon when you're away from the Pokemon Centre?"

At this point I had to nod. The time I had spent away from Nikki and Jasmine, training on my own for three months while trying to keep hidden, I hadn't been able to risk going into Pokemon Centres that often to heal my Pokemon. Of course, that had meant I had become wholly dependent on the portable medicine that I could pick up relatively cheaply and carry around with me for emergencies. When I thought about it, I had used more than my fair share of Potions and Revives. If I thought hard, I could bring back the memories of their sights and smells. Despite myself, a confident smile tugged at my lips. Maybe I _could _do this…

"Oh well!" Hikaru said brightly, her sudden chirpy attitude physically making me jump. "We should just do our best! If we do well, we do well! If we fail, we fail!"

"That's a very, uh, optimistic attitude, Hikaru…" Melinda said nervously.

Hikaru shrugged animatedly.

"Well _I'm _not going to lose," Selphie said traitorously, leaning further against her work station. "I can't lose. Not unless the Rattata escapes on me,"

"That could be a distinct possibility…" I muttered to myself. "Rattata are annoying, sneaky little—"

"Vermin?" Selphie offered.

"Aww, no! Rattata are cute!" Hikaru suddenly squealed, a big grin adorning her face.

I frowned at Hikaru, and despite my better judgement asked "Are you mad?"

"Hmm." She seemed to consider it before trilling back "A little,"

"Great," I murmured, looking at the amateur Three Stooges I was now standing with. Why did I always seem to attract the strange ones in any group of people I was in…?

"H-hello? Is this on?"

I winced in pain as the screech of the microphone cut through my whole body, sending violent tremors through me. Selphie let out an exasperated sigh of "Finally!" while Hikaru and Melinda guiltily snuck back, or _skipped _back in Hikaru's case, to their own work stations.

"Apologies, yes, apologies for the technical difficulties!" the announcer cried, sounding as far away from "sorry" as one could get. "We are now ready, yes, now ready to undertake the second preliminary! Please listen, yes, please listen carefully for instructions."

"This ought to be good," Selphie remarked.

"You will each be provided with a sick and injured Rattata. Now, don't worry, yes, don't worry, we have not harmed these Rattata ourselves in any way. They have been shipped in from the local Pokemon Centre, where you will return them to after administering the medicine for proper release. Now, as some of you, yes, as some of you have probably guessed, the bottles of medicine we have provided you with are _blank_! Yes, _blank_! You have no labels, yes, no labels to show you which medicine is the Revive, which medicine is the Super Potion, and which is the Full Heal! Now, if you administer, yes, if you administer the medicine in an order different from the Revive, Super Potion and Full Heal, the proctors, who know which bottle is which, will immediately disqualify you!"

I groaned.

"We assume, yes, we assume that you trainers have been battling and on the road long enough, yes, long enough, to have needed to use means other than just Pokemon Centre healing to assist you. How can we expect, yes, how can we expect you to be good, all-rounded trainers if you are not skilled in the basics? And we consider Pokemon first aid to be one of the most vital basics! If you cannot prove yourself capable of this, then you are not worthy of entering the battleground! If you cannot heal your Pokemon, then you do not deserve to battle them, and endanger their lives!"

"I see his point actually." I murmured.

"I saw his point half an hour ago…" Selphie said darkly. "I just want to get on with this."

"Once the injured Rattata, yes, once the injured Rattata has been fully, and properly healed, you must then transport the Pokemon to the Pokemon Centre and hand it over to an official proctor. You may use the cage provided if you wish. However, if your Rattata escapes, you will also be disqualified! There will be proctors stationed outside along the way to the Pokemon Centre who will disqualify you, yes, disqualify you if they see your Rattata escape. Now, yes, now, I understand that this is a difficult challenge… and there will likely be many disqualifications. But do your best, yes, do your best!"

I groaned. I was starting to hate this man more and more with every instance he opened his mouth.

"And now, yes, and now, the proctors will provide you with your Rattata and the second preliminary will begin!" the microphone screeched as he put it back, but then he suddenly lunged for it again. "And remember, yes remember, that this is _timed_! Don't spend too long deciding with medicine is which! And! It's a long way to the Pokemon Centre from here…" he added maliciously before stepping down from the microphone once again.

"Is it just me or does he _really_ seem to love torturing us…?" I asked, my eyebrows twitching into a deep frown.

Selphie said nothing. She was swigging deeply from a bottle of water, which she quickly finished, put away and then pulled out another one. She then began swallowing that down, obviously not interested in talking anymore. I sighed, and looked around instead to pass the time. Proctors had descended on the work stations with large wire mesh cages. My eyes bulged. Those cages were massive and looked horribly unwieldy. The proctors had to clamp both hands around their sheer bulk and were moving very slowly and deliberately to manoeuvre the cages around. My heart sunk. The announcer had said we were free to use the cages if we wanted to. But these cages looked capable of housing a _Granbull_, not a tiny little Rattata. That cage looked bigger than _me_. There was no way I could carry that, let alone attempt to carry it quickly…

"_I'm so screwed_…"

They set the massive cages down on the workstations, and I peeked inside the mesh wiring to look at the Rattata. I had to squint to catch sight of the ball of purple fur, slowly moving up and down. I couldn't tell if it was sleeping or not…

"And… on your marks…"

I almost dropped from shock as the announcer bellowed into the microphone. Selphie was laughing at me from across the workstation, and I shot her my best menacing glare. It didn't have any effect on her.

"Get set…"

I tensed.

"And go!"

I became instantly, horribly aware, and terrified, of the fact that we were timed when the announcement went for us to start. I quickly wrestled with the latches on the giant cage. It took me a frustratingly long time to wrench them open. I didn't even hesitate, my heart banging as I ripped open the hatch and stuck my arms in. My fingers touched soft fur and I instantly grabbed onto the soft creature and dragged it out, perhaps a little more violently than I should have.

There was hardly any space for me to work with the giant cage taking up most of the space, so I elbowed it as far out of the way as I could, until it was hanging precariously off the edge of the workstation. As I finally set the unconscious Rattata down onto what little space I had left, an almighty bang ricocheted through the entire of the room. I whipped my head around and saw the tiny young girl with the chestnut pigtails stare in a kind of amused shock as the giant cage that seemed to dwarf her in size, and thankfully minus the injured Rattata, crashed to the ground, sending what felt like a miniature earthquake through the entire room.

I cringed. That girl looked no older than twelve or thirteen, and she looked even younger with the cute little red and white dress and pigtails. If that was me, even at seventeen years of age, I would have been mortified. I wholly expected her to at least, blush or even burst into tears, but instead, a huge sunny smile broke out over her rounded face and she started to giggle.

"Oops!" she cried, giggling maniacally. "My bad! Sorry about that, everyone! I'm a bit of a klutz today!"

"Stop gawking," Selphie's voice suddenly reached my ears, and I averted my eyes to see her glaring at me darkly, while still twisting the tops from one of the bottles. "We're timed, remember! Don't pay attention to anyone else!"

I cursed, immediately realising Selphie was right. I put the girl with the chestnut pigtails out of my head completely and focused on my task. I grabbed the nearest bottle, struggled with the cap and eventually got it open. Without even hesitating I put it to my nose and inhaled deeply.

I retched almost immediately as I did so, the thick, pungent, surgical smell catching the back of my throat instantly. But the smell was familiar… I sniffed it again, this time a little more warily, and a vivid memory returned to me.

"_Easy girl,_" _I say comfortingly as I twist Meloi's injured face towards me. _

_She's barely conscious, her eyes lidded and heavy, and is making a little fatigued, pained groaning noise with every shaky breath she takes. It breaks my heart to see her in such pain. Her training has exhausted her, that final battle against that Slakoth too much for the still newly evolved Ampharos to take. I delve straight into my bag and take out a bottle. As soon as I remove the stopper, the thick medicinal smell chokes its way down my throat like a fist, but I ignore it and drop the thick, gloopy liquid straight into her mouth. _

_She recovers after only a few moments, what little health she had now fully replenished and restored as if she was never injured to begin with. _

_The miracles of Super Potions never cease to amaze me._

"Super Potion…" I whispered to the bottle, before coming to a stark realisation. "No, I need the Revive first…"

I was conscious of the fact a proctor had moved in to start watching me intently and the noises of the occasional shout of anger or pain were ringing in my ears, making it almost impossible to concentrate. That and the knowledge time was certainly not my friend made me even more tense and jumpy. It was almost impossible to ignore the distractions erupting around me, but I still somehow managed to push through it and keep working. I barely even noticed as Selphie administered the first dose of medicine to her Rattata, under the watchful, and approving, eye of her proctor.

The second bottle I picked up I didn't recognise the smell of at all, but I wasn't overly worried. I'd never used a Full Heal before. I wasn't even entirely sure of what the stuff was supposed to _do._ By process of elimination I deduced that what I was holding in my hands was the Full Heal, the third thing to be administered. To double check, I grabbed what I assumed to be the Revive and consulted it. I had used many Revives in my time, and it's relatively odourless smell and thin, clear texture was recognisable immediately. I took a moment to take a deep breath. That Rattata was going to go mental as soon as it came to, and in a room full of people and Pokemon, it was likely this wasn't going to end well…

All the same, I couldn't waste time! Gathering what little courage I had, I secured the Rattata down with one hand and used the other to haphazardly drop the clear liquid into the Rattata's mouth. For an agonisingly long moment, nothing happened, and I tensed, a horrible notion that I had gotten the wrong medicine spreading through me instantly. But then, the Rattata moved slightly underneath my hand and its eyes sparked open.

"Easy, easy, easy, easy…" I murmured to the purple rat as it instantly began to struggle. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I'm here to make you better."

My soft, comforting tones seemed to work on the Rattata, unbelievably enough, and it relaxed, immediately stopping its struggle. I hardly dared believe that it was cooperating with me, but didn't want to waste time thinking about it and quickly began administering the Super Potion. However, my hand jerked and almost spilled the entire bottle all over the work station as a scream shot through the room. As I glanced up I saw a young man shriek and pull away from his work station, the jaws of the Rattata he was supposed to be treating now firmly embedded in his hand. I squinted at the boy as he prised the Rattata from his hand, trying to see if I recognised him. He was a tall guy, with messy brown hair and square rimmed glasses almost exactly like Elliot's. It came to me in a flash. This had been one of the boys Elliot had been talking to while he was waiting for the first preliminary!

After a few seconds of pained screeching, the boy eventually wrestled the Rattata from his hand and slammed it down on the desk, somehow restraining it.

"Challenger number twenty-nine, yes, challenger number twenty-nine! Chaison Coffman, do you require medical assistance?" the announcer cried.

"No, no!" the boy grunted, somehow managing to keep his Rattata under restraint. "I'm good!" he suddenly laughed, it ringing out loud and cheery into the room. "At least we know I got the right medicine, huh?"

An appreciative murmur of laughter sprung up through the crowd. Even I smiled, despite the situation. A Rattata bite was nasty at the best of times; I didn't envy that boy at all. It would influence his entire performance in this preliminary now.

I quickly refocused myself again. I seemed to be forgetting this thing was a timed competition. I had just about managed to convince the Rattata to take the drops of Super Potion (it seemed a little reluctant to take it. Not that I could blame him, it probably tasted disgusting as all things they claimed were "good for you" were) when the announcer was suddenly hollering excitedly into the microphone.

"Well look at that! Contestant number twenty four, yes contestant number twenty four, Jade Black, has finished administering his medicine and is now making his way out to the Pokemon Centre!"

"You're kidding!" I grimaced, turning my head only momentarily to see a billowing cloak sweep past my vision and a shock of blonde hair, as Jade Black dashed past me, his Rattata gathered in his arms.

"Shut up and get on with it, then!" With a flourish, Selphie had suddenly broken away from her desk, a squirming Rattata wrapped up in her arms.

"And challengers Selphie Laney, Scott Harper—"

"Scott?" I cried. "What a little—!"

I didn't have time to curse after Scott, as the announcer suddenly began yelling out names and numbers of even more challengers that were getting ready to run for the Pokemon Centre. Some part of me, even despite my panic, wondered how on earth the announcer knew so many names and numbers of the challengers just by looking at us, but I tried not to think about it. I slammed down the bottle of Super Potion, twisted open the bottle of Full Heal and carefully put the bottle to the Rattata's mouth, stroking gently underneath its thoat slowly to encourage it to swallow. No sooner had the Rattata swallowed the drops of the medicine, and after an encouraging nod from my proctor, I gathered the Rattata clumsily into my arms and bolted for the door.

I screeched in fright as a stray Rattata dashed across my path, followed immediately by a competitor firmly face-planting to the ground, after a failed attempt to lunge to grab his escaped Pokemon. In a display of athleticism I didn't even know I was capable of, I leapt straight over the boy lying in my way, landed effortlessly on my feet again and ran towards the door, squeezing my body through it just before it slammed shut again.

The Rattata was squirming in my hands so I took a moment to readjust it so that it was nestled comfortably in my arms, murmuring soft words of comfort all the while. I glanced around, spotting the tell-tale red roof of the Pokemon Centre in the distance, and I took a deep breath before running off in the direction of it.

As I ran, I realised with great annoyance that I certainly wasn't as fit as I used to be. My heart was banging in my chest within moments, and each breath came with a stab of pain when I drew it. My feet slammed hard on the ground, my legs cramping and tingling with every step. I was tiring fast.

And then, disaster struck.

A flash of colour streaked past me, and I caught sight of another of the competitors completely over-taking me. I only caught a fleeting glance of his face, but I recognised him instantly. It was the boy with the bandaged arms I had seen challenge the announcer earlier in the day. He was running furiously, his long, wiry limbs carrying him effortlessly across the terrain, his unruly black hair fanning out behind him. Distracted by the boy's display of athleticism, and coupled with the realisation that he must have caught up with me quickly as I hadn't seen him when I left the Pokemon Centre; I forgot to watch where I was running. My foot caught on something on the ground, and I felt my whole body become uprooted. I screamed, twisting my body around in mid-air as much as I could to protect the Rattata. I thudded hard onto my side, the Rattata squealing and squirming, its claws slicing open my arms as it scrabbled and fought against my grip, desperate to get away. But still I held on. I wasn't going to let this Rattata away from me. I wasn't going to lose! I tried to murmur soft words of comfort to the Rattata, trying to still it, calm it down. I felt tears of pain prick at my eyes as it continued ravaging my arms, pain exploding through it with every new cut they sustained.

"Sienna!"

The male voice calling my name was certainly familiar, but it didn't belong to Elliot, Scott or Bailey. I looked up weakly and saw a familiar freckled face come into my vision.

"Luca?" I asked weakly.

"Hang on, Sienna, we'll get you up," He said cheerfully, shifting his own, surprisingly calm, Rattata to his other arm and extending his hand to me. I gripped onto his hand, unable to move my body much at all, but Luca was willing and pulled me to my feet without almost any effort on my part. As he got a good look at me, his face fell in horror. "Oh my God, your arms…"

My Rattata was calm now; too interested in sniffing and investigating Luca's Rattata to continue tearing apart my arms. I glanced down and saw thin, jagged cuts criss-crossing my pale arms, standing out vividly and glistening with fresh blood. Luca's face was pale at my injuries, and even I felt light-headed and a little ill to look at them, but as I looked around, I saw competitors gaining on us. "Never mind me," I said hoarsely. "Let's just get to the Pokemon Centre."

Luca nodded. "Can you run?"

"I think so…"

"Come on then, let's go."

We broke into a run towards the Pokemon Centre once again. I had the feeling Luca could have probably run a lot faster than me, but the young boy stayed by my side, running next to me companionably the whole way there. I couldn't help but wonder why… This was a competition after all. Weren't these people supposed to only be looking out for themselves? I smiled a little, even through the shocks and stabs of pain. These people had really fulfilled my faith in humanity once again.

We got to the Pokemon Centre, Luca even holding the door open for me like a gentleman for me to walk through first. I was surprised to see that not many other trainers were here. A gasp of shock echoed through the few trainers that were here however, and as I looked down, saw blood dripping down my arms and soaking into my t-shirt. I grimaced. I looked like an extra from a horror movie. My eyes met Selphie's, who was sitting sprawled out in one of the chairs. She was frowning slightly. Scott was standing at the far side, separate from the rest of the trainers eyeballing me. As I caught his eye, he shook his head in an exasperated manner. Finally I looked at Jade Black, who was also sitting in a seat, sipping at a can of lemonade. He laughed.

Luca and I handed over the Rattata to the proctors and had our times taken, before we were told to wait for the rest of the competitors to appear. My arms were stinging with pain, and Selphie and Luca demanded for me to be seen by someone, but the Nurse Joy was revealed to be in surgery with an emergency, so there was no-one avaiblae to look after me.

Or so I thought.

"Hey," another voice cut in, and as I looked up, came face-to-face with the same olive-skinned boy who had been the cause of my distraction, which had then in turn caused my fall. "I saw you fall back then," he said, somewhat helplessly, I felt, while taking a seat opposite me. "S-sorry I couldn't stop and help you,"

"I understand," I said, offering him a watery smile. "It's a competition after all."

"I still felt bad," the boy said, pushing the square framed glasses he was wearing further up his nose. For a moment, he said nothing. He actually looked strangely uncomfortable to be sitting there, and he wouldn't quite meet my eye. Then suddenly, he spoke again. "Here. Take these."

He suddenly awkwardly pushed a roll of bandages into my hands. I blinked in surprise at their presence, and looked at the boy in confusion. He seemed a little nervous and chuckled softly. "I always carry some spare. I seem to get in a lot of scrapes," he said by way of explanation, indicating his own bandaged arms.

I could do nothing but nod.

"People under-estimate how much damage Rattata can do," he continued, suddenly reaching out and taking the bandages back, before pulling one of my arms towards him. His grip was light and hesitant. "Here, let me help you." Before I knew what was happening he was expertly bandaging up my arm.

"Th-thanks…" I murmured, not quite sure what to say. From over the other side of the room, Scott was shaking his head at me as he sipped at a can of lemonade.

"It's not a problem," the boy seemed to be more at ease now, his hazel-green eyes, large and round behind his glasses, returning a warming and welcoming twinkle. Within a couple of minutes, he finished with one of my arms and had started on another. "Oh, my name's Grey, by the way." He added, catching my eye momentarily. "Grey Thomas."

"Sienna Volbeda,"

"Nice to meet you, Sienna." He said with a smile. "I'd shake your hand, but…"

"No, no, I get it," I said, offering Grey a smile of my own. Remembering my manners, I introduced Grey to both Luca and Selphie, finding it strangely odd to be introducing people I barely knew to complete strangers.

There were yet more introductions to be had when Elliot burst through the door of the Pokemon Centre, his Rattata barely clinging on to his arms. He shoved the Rattata at the proctor and didn't even stop to hear his time before running up to me and embracing me in a massive hug right there and then.

"I heard you'd been hurt!" he gasped after hugging me, putting me at arm's length to look me up and down. "Your arms… they're all cut up…"

"I'm okay, Elliot, really…" I murmured, drawing him into a hug again, suddenly just wanting to cling onto him like a baby monkey. "Luca and Grey looked after me,"

Elliot ignored that, and instead leaned in and kissed me softly, in front of everyone there. Caught up in the kiss, I almost forgot about the very public setting we were in, and I found myself flushing with embarrassment when we eventually drew apart. He ran his fingers down my face, sending a little tingle down my spine. "I love you," he said softly.

"I love you too…" I whispered, feeling a smile tug across my face. Even after almost two years of being together, hearing those three simple words still gave the most intense butterflies.

"Adorable," Selphie deadpanned, sounding bored and making Elliot and I blush even further.

It didn't take long for the Pokemon Centre to be full to the brim with chattering and excited trainers once more. We were reunited with Jasmine, Nikki, Bailey and even Scott, who finally rejoined our ranks after his sister called him over. I had anticipated Luca, Grey and Selphie to excuse themselves as soon as the rest of our friends appeared, but Selphie seemed to get on well with Jasmine, while Grey and Bailey struck up a conversation (mainly due to Bailey's immense amusement from the fact Grey's first name was the same as his second name) and Luca flitted among the rest of us like an excited child, talking away to anyone that would speak to him.

We were called outside for the final announcement in regard to the second preliminary not long after that. Eight disqualifications were made, three for administering medicine in the wrong order, and five for losing the Rattata somewhere along the line. This brought the overall number of competitors down to thirty-eight. I swallowed. We still had a further eighteen competitors to lose.

A scoreboard was then announced. Right at the top of the leaderboard, with an overall time of just less than ten minutes, the shortest time by almost a full three minutes, was Jade Black. Scott placed high on the leaderboard, coming in at third place with just over thirteen minutes. I was ecstatic to see myself, Jasmine, Elliot, Luca, Selphie, Grey, Melinda, Crow and Hikaru all managing to cling onto various spots in the top twenty. I was particularly proud of my spot at number twelve. However, Nikki and Bailey were not faring too well, coming in at twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth respectively…

"And now, the final round, yes, the final round!" the announcer cried. "This is the make-or-break round, yes the make or break round! A good score, or a bad score, can completely change the leaderboard! People in the top spots can come crashing down, yes, and people in the bottom spots can come rising up! Do not, yes; do not assume your place on the leaderboard is fully set in stone!"

I caught Nikki nodding slowly. She had taken her comparatively lower down position on the leaderboard hard, and the disappointment was evident on her face. Bailey however had taken it in his stride, smiling, and saying he would just have to do better in the final preliminary. I slipped my hand into Nikki's, squeezing it reassuringly, and she managed to shoot me a watery smile. I prayed that both Nikki and Bailey would make it through to the battling rounds.

But then I realised I'd need to save as many prayers as I could so _I _could make it through to the battling rounds. The announcer was right. No-one's place was set in stone on that leaderboard. It was all going to come down to the final preliminary.

I just hoped it would go a bit more smoothly than the second one had.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, this is the second part of the Preliminary Rounds arc! Next chapter will end the preliminaries and after that, the battling tournament will commence.**

**I hope everyone who has had their OCs introduced are happy with what I've been able to do, and apologies to anyone who hasn't had the detailed introduction yet, it will all come to fruition soon :)**

**I'm really happy you guys like the preliminary rounds; I honestly thought you'd all hate it, but I felt it would be best to do this in order to make it more exciting and give the OCs as much screentime as possible.**

**Special thanks go to: Sunbean, WildCroconaw, Sniper Mudkip, KRDiva1, Aeroga, ArchXDeath, WOWFan123, Shadow of Eckhart, FindMe215, TCOBlackRoses, TwewyReaperGirl, WarriorSwift, and Shadow Serenity 57. The amount of reviews I've been getting is just awesome! Thank you all so much!**

**Please continue to read, review and most importantly, enjoy!**


	25. Panic at the Preliminaries! Part III

"Now everybody, yes, now everybody," the announcer was having to practically scream into the microphone to make himself heard over the noises of the other competitors, and the horrible screeching of the microphone was grating on my nerves. "If you will kindly follow the proctors, yes, follow the proctors they will lead you the short walk towards the setting for the third and final preliminary!"

"I wonder where we're going…" Nikki mused softly.

I didn't get the chance to answer her, as suddenly the crowd began to move. Thankfully, instead of moving in one big swarm of people, everyone separated into groups with the occasional loner tagging along at their own pace. And instead of one mad rush like I had anticipated, people were moving at their own pace. This left myself, my travelling party and the three friends (could I really call them that?) I had amassed over the day to walk comfortably towards wherever our destination was.

As a nervous Nikki repeated her question from earlier, I jumped as a breezy and enthusiastic Luca suddenly pulled in next to us. "They said the third challenge was a campside challenge!" He said with a beaming smile, effortlessly raising his voice just loud enough for us to hear him over the annoyingly loud chatter from the other trainers. "Making a fire, pitching a tent and catching a Magikarp, right?"

"So…?" Jasmine asked, a little standoffishly.

"Well, I think we're going to be near water!" Luca concluded, looking proud of himself.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Selphie, who was looking less than impressed to have to be walking somewhere, was swigging slowly from a bottle of water as she rebuked Luca.

Scott suddenly let out an exasperated sigh, before shooting me a fierce look. "Sienna, where did you _find _these people?" he asked, not even bothering to lower his voice or soften his tones at all.

Before I could answer, and to my immediate horror, Selphie immediately rounded on Scott, looking furious. "What do you mean by that!" she demanded of him.

Scott raised one eyebrow at the fierce tomboy, a glare spreading across his face. Selphie looked completely unthreatened, and returned the glare with equal intensity. I winced.

"Hey, guys, come on. Chill out," Grey, who had also appeared from seemingly nowhere, was now frowning at the warring Selphie and Scott. "There's no need for that,"

"You're wasting your breath, Grey…" I remarked.

He looked at me in a confused manner, and then frowned again as, right on cue, a fierce argument erupted between Scott and Selphie. I offered Grey and Luca a smile and told them this kind of behaviour was "normal", at least for Scott, which seemed to reassure them a little. Firmly ignoring the warring Scott and Selphie, we continued on our way.

I kept my eyes peeled for others that I knew in amongst the thirty or so others that were still in the competition. However, Melinda and Hikaru were nowhere to be seen, and neither was the enigmatic Crow. But as I turned my head to my left, I caught sight of the girl with the white blonde hair and the long purple dress walking past. However, she was moving so gracefully, so elegantly that it was more like she was gliding, not simply walking. Her head turned, her eyes fixed on me, and mid-step another violent shudder reverberated through my body. Her eyes were so deep and probing, even in the most fleeting and briefest of glances. But before I could even contemplate doing or saying anything, she had pulled away from us, striding ahead effortlessly.

I watched her retreating back for some time, my mind ticking over. I didn't even realise I had zoned out until Bailey was pulling on my arm, his voice suddenly sharply permeating my thoughts. I looked at him in sheer confusion, and he returned it with an equally vacant look.

"You okay?" he asked, a moment later.

"Uhh…" was all I could say.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking concerned.

I chanced a glance at the others before even contemplating answering him. Thankfully, everyone else were all wrapped up in their own conversation, even Luca and Grey, who had integrated themselves very nicely into our main travelling party. Even though I knew there was no chance of the others listening in to the conversation, I still flustered for a moment, unsure of what to say. It sounded so strange trying to put my feelings into words. Clearing my throat, I pointed out the girl, trying (and failing) to be subtle about it.

"That girl there. The one with all the blonde hair and purple dress. Do you… know who she is, by any chance?"

"Why?" Bailey asked, a hint of a frown marring his face.

"I don't know," I said truthfully, struggling to find some way to accurately describe how I was feeling without coming off like a complete idiot. "She just makes me feel… nervous… Like she's… she's…" I broke off at this point, unable to think of anything.

"Trying to look into your soul?" Bailey suggested.

I turned a gawping, open mouthed face to Bailey. I could only manage a tiny croak in response.

"I was working across from her in the second preliminary," he said, by way of explaination and with an airy shrug. "All I got was that her name was Natsuki. Natsuki… Ikebana, I think." I had to stop myself from laughing as Bailey stumbled comically over the exotic name for a few attempts. "She didn't say much, but she kept staring at me all the time. It was like she just… was trying to figure me out or something. It felt really strange…"

Another shudder ran down my spine. I found it highly unnerving that Bailey had reported the exact same feelings I had experienced with that girl Natsuki, and no matter how much I tried to ignore it, the agitation wouldn't leave me alone. There was just something so inherently unsettling about the way that girl looked at me… I couldn't help but wonder exactly what her story was… Who exactly _she _was…?

We walked in silence for a little further until eventually we emerged at a small clearing near a large body of water. The announcer was standing there, looking self-important as always, with an ominously large collection of huge bags, a giant pile of kindling and a collection of neatly stacked fishing rods surrounding him. I swallowed deeply. I already didn't like the look of this…

"Welcome, yes, welcome!" the announcer had to shout to make himself heard above the chatter, as he had no microphone. His booming voice was impossible to ignore however, and things quietened almost immediately. "Welcome to the final preliminary round! Everything, yes, everything depends on this round!"

At this point, I noticed Nikki looking nervous, pale, and wide-eyed. I couldn't blame her. I was feeling about as nervous as she looked. However, the announcer was still bellowing, far louder than was actually _necessary _considering everyone had gone relatively quiet in the clearing, so I tried to focus on that instead of my nerves.

"You will be given three challenges, yes, three challenges that will test you in the very basics of survival! How can you expect, yes, how can you expect to be able to look after Pokemon if you cannot even look after yourself?"

A murmur of appreciation went through the crowd. I found myseld nodding along, sharing the announcer's sentiments. I had to admit, he had a point. And as much as I'm sure everyone hated the bother and stress of these preliminaries, you couldn't deny they were teaching us an important lesson. People did tend to forget the basics of training… I mean, how could you expect to be a talented trainer if you didn't even know the basics…?

"You will be tasked, yes, tasked with making a fire, pitching a tent and catching a Magikarp! Now remember, yes, remember, you may undertake these three challenges in any order you wish. But there are many ways, yes, many ways which you can be disqualified! If your fire or tent does not meet the standards, yes if they do not meet the standards the proctors expect, you will be disqualified. If you deliberately tamper with another contestant's work, you will also be disqualified!"

"See if he says that word one more time…" I muttered vehemently. Grey spluttered with laughter from somewhere down the line, but we were immediately shushed by some of the more irate competitors.

The announcer carried on blithely, none-the-wiser to anything going on in the crowds. "At the end of the round, your time, yes, your time for this preliminary will be added on to your total time, and the top twenty contestants will move on to the battling round! Is that clear?"

Another round of affirmative murmuring echoed around the remaining competitors, before the announcer cleared his throat once again. "So, everyone please take a number, yes, take a number, and please find the corresponding campsite. Good luck everyone!"

I was starting to get inherently fed up of standing in lines, but all the same I obediently lined up as the proctors began setting up the thirty-eight campsites. Ahead of me, Luca, Elliot, and Nikki took their numbers and disappeared to various corners of the campsite. Slightly nervous, I stepped up to the tiny table set out and was handed a number. I shuffled to the side awkwardly as Selphie rampaged past me in her eagerness to get to the table and unfolded my paper apprehensively.

My heart sunk immediately when I saw the stamped number staring back at me. "You are kidding me on here, aren't you…?" I groaned hysterically.

"Unlucky number 13," Selphie commented over my shoulder with a wicked smile, proudly showing off her own number, the comparably much safer number nine.

"Sucks to be me, I know…" I said grimacing, before pocketing my number, wishing the others good luck and heading off to look for my campsite.

I frowned and couldn't help but grimace nervously once again as the proctors began moving all the kindling, tent poles and canvas and the fishing rods we would need for the challenge towards our stations. I felt a little sick. I knew just how difficult this challenge was going to be, and the more I thought about it, the shakier and more apprehensive I became.

I looked down at my feet, and my eyes touched on the tiny fire pit we were expected to light a fire in. I let out a tiny groan of despair as I thought about it. Sure, I had started a fire hundreds of times before, but it had always been with Kiba's help. The flimsy looking flints I had been given to start sparks didn't look all that promising either. And as I looked at the pile of poles and the thick canvas sheet for the tent, I squirmed even more. Those tent poles were taller than _me. _And then what about catching that Magikarp? I was hopeless at fishing! And with everyone fishing at once, there was no way the Magikarp would be entranced to any hooks in particular. This was going to be impossible…

I was distracted when a blue blur suddenly entered my peripheral vision. Turning around in surprise, I saw a young girl move in to campsite twelve. I recognised her face immediately. This was the girl with the midnight blue hair I had seen right at the beginning of the day. The same girl who regarded her vicious looking Mightyena with the same kind of loving adoration normally reserved for newborn Growlithe… As I thought this, the girl moved across and began investigating her campsite, with the same worried face I'm sure I was displaying. She looked strangely small and demure without that vicious Mightyena by her side, I thought. Unfortunately for me, I stared a little too long and she caught me looking at her.

"Is something the matter?" she asked. She was soft-spoken, and her voice was quiet, but there was a pleasant warmth and friendliness to it that I instantly liked.

"Uh, no, not really…" I replied, with a short smile. "Just… sizing up the competition, I guess."

The girl also smiled, her entire face warming up with the gesture. "I haven't met you yet," she said needlessly. "My name is Sam,"

"Sam, huh? I'm Sienna,"

"Good to meet you," she said pleasantly.

There was a moment of awkward silence, the two of us just staring at each other. I searched helplessly for a topic of conversation, anything, just for something to say, and inadvertently ended up blurting out "I saw you with a big Mightyena earlier…"

While I mentally cringed at the stupidity of what I had just said, Sam's face blossomed into an even bigger smile than before. "Oh! That was my Che-Che!" she said proudly.

"Che-Che?" I repeated, the babyish name sounding strange and foreign on my tongue.

"I've had her since I was a baby," Sam said, albeit a little sheepishly, by way of explainaton. "Poochyena was too hard for a baby to say so—"

"She became Che-Che?" I surmised.

"Yep." She said breezily.

I opened my mouth with the intent of saying something else, when a shadow fell across my vision. I looked up to see the open friendly face of a young man, around twenty years of age, with long blue hair and clear, fair skin. I blinked in surprise as he studied the number in front of my campsite, consulted his own number, but then moved to the campsite next to me. Number fourteen.

Distracted, and a little intrigued, by the presence of this young man, I tried to subtly watch him out the corner of my eye. Whoever he was, it was like he was trying to gather and take in every minute detail of his surroundings, like he was trying to learn every single thing off by heart. I had to admit, it did make me a little nervous, but not in the same way the blonde girl that Bailey had called Natsuki made me nervous…

As I watched him, he turned his head and suddenly caught my eye. He held my gaze for just a little too long and looked away, his long hair falling over his face, like he wanted to just hide away from the world. Now thoroughly intrigued, I leaned towards the boy slightly, and taking a leaf out of Sam's book, asked "Something wrong?" as innocently as possible.

He flinched when I spoke, and instantly I regretted ever opening my mouth, especially when he started to look uncomfortable. "No." he said after a long pause, looking very much like he'd like to shrink away and withdraw into himself.

"S-sorry…" I apologised meekly, feeling bad. "I'm just nervous…"

"… me too…" he admitted, running a hand through his unusual straight blue hair. I found myself staring at it, wondering if it was natural or dyed. Sam's hair was midnight blue too, I realised, and all of a sudden, even I, with the naturally red hair, felt a little diminished and almost _ordinary _next to them.

"Wh… what's your name?" I asked him a few moments later.

Once again, he looked reluctant to speak, and I could tell it was with great difficulty that he finally told me "Evan," while fiddling with the collar of his dark green jacket. "Evan Garfunkel…" he added a few seconds later.

I nodded, noticing that he didn't offer a handshake as an introduction. He wouldn't even meet my eye. I don't think he wanted me anywhere _near _him as a matter of fact. Don't get me wrong, I had met my fair share of shy people, both here and throughout life, but this guy was another kettle of Magikarp altogether.

"Umm, well, I'm Sienna Volbeda," I offered, almost forgetting to tell the poor boy my name in return, mentally chastising myself for making things more awkward than they already were…

Before I could say anything more, a voice from behind piped up. "And I'm Sam!"

I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was, but I did anyway. Sure enough, there was Sam, standing right next to me, waving happily at Evan, with a big smile on her face. I watched as Evan blinked slowly in the face of her enthusiasm. I cleared my throat nervously. "And that's Sam…" I repeated needlessly. "We, uh, we just met."

"… nice to meet you both," Evan's voice was deep and manly, there was no doubt about that, but still it was strangely soft and quiet. I liked it. It was comforting. The kind of voice I could imagine that would tell children bedtime stories…

"I think I must know almost everyone here by first name now," Sam said cheerfully interrupting my train of thought.

"Really? Wow. I don't know how you do it," I smiled at her, being entirely genuine in my statement. "I've met so many people today. I can't remember everyone…"

"So long as we remember the ones who are gonna give us the most competition…" Sam suddenly lowered her voice, looking a little wide-eyed. "Like that Jade Black guy…"

I nodded, feeling a little shiver creep over my spine at the sheer mention of his name.

"And then there's someone called Celeste Archos… she's in second place overall,"

My heart leapt a little. Celeste Archos? That was the girl that had been tailing Bailey around. I found myself deeply shocked. That soft-spoken girl was in second place overall? There was no way! _That _girl?

I didn't have time to think about it anymore, as Sam was continuing to talk at a frighteningly fast pace, her unsual dark midnight blue eyes sparkling. "And then there's this new guy, Scott Harper, everyone's talking about—"

"Scott?" I repeated incredulously.

"Yeah! He's supposed to be really tough. Do you know him?" she asked, looking at me in a funny sort of way.

"Unfortunately," I said with a jokey grin, but Sam seemed to take me seriously.

"Well everyone's saying to look out for him!" she said with a fierce nod of her head. "And then of course there's—"

I stopped listening to Sam at that point, as she continued to babble on about names. Some I recognised, others I didn't, some I sort of _half_-recognised, but she sped on so fast that I forgot the names almost as soon as she said them. I cast a nervous glance at Evan, who was watching the proceedings with a half amused look on his face. "I think she talks too much…" he said sofltly, almost unsure of himself.

"I think so too," I smiled back.

We didn't however get a chance to discuss it any further, as the announcer was suddenly hollering loudly above the chit-chat. "And now, yes, and now, we will begin the final preliminary!"

Even as the announcer said this, a proctor pulled in next to me, a clipboard in his hand and a stopwatch in the other. He quickly explained to me that he would be timing me, and showed me my overall time of sixteen minutes and twenty-two seconds. However long I took with the entire of this preliminary would be added onto that overall time, which would be submitted for the final score. I nodded, suddenly beginning to get very nervous.

"You may take, yes, you may undertake the three challenges in any order you wish," the announcer reminded us. "Once you have finished, yes, once you have finished, come and stand over by me so you will not disturb the other competitors."

I tensed immediately. This was it. It was starting. Just like that, it was time for the final preliminary…

"On your marks… get set…"

"Oh God…" I found myself squeezing my eyes shut, suddenly completely overwhelmed by nerves.

"GO!"

As soon as the word "go" left the announcers lips, I lunged forward for the first thing my hands could reach. The firewood. This actually was a good strategy, I thought to myself, as I heaved the various bits of kindling into the fire pit, adrenaline pumping and heart banging frantically and painfully in my chest. Get the tent put up and the fire lit first, I reasoned. I knew I could do those things, after all. Catching that Magikarp was going to be the hardest thing, after all. It was far better to do what I could first, and then focus on what was going to be more difficult.

My arms ached almost straight away from trying to heave the pieces of wood about, but I tried to ignore it as I stacked the branches, arranging it so that the various branches would (hopefully) catch alight more easily. Then I started what I anticipated to be a struggle with the flint. To my extreme surprise, it took me only one try for sparks to fly straight out onto the brittle wood. And while it certainly wasn't the dramatic _whoosh _of flames I would have liked, it was certainly enough to get the job done. A thin, lazy waft of smoke began unfurling from beneath the dry wood, and a faint glow began spreading across one of the branches.

Praying that the fire would keep going and light properly under its own devices, I scrambled to my feet, ran to the side and started to wrestle with the tent poles. The place was eerily quiet, the only noises the occasional _clank _of the tent poles banging together, or the noise of the flints sparking. Nobody was speaking. Not even the announcer. It made me feel even more horribly nervous. I tried to put it to the back of my mind as I tried to work with the tent poles (which, by the way, were thick and heavy, almost taller than me and I'm pretty sure _weighed _as much as me) but a sudden commotion from completely stopped me in my tracks.

I turned my head in the direction of the commotion and protesting, and was shocked to see a young man approaching the water. He however wasn't calmly walking with a fishing rod in hand, though. He was running, completely empty handed! Mid-run he ripped off his shirt, and then stopped in his tracks at the water's edge, kicked off his shoes and socks and suddenly dove straight into the water!

"Look at that, yes _look at that_!" the announcer sounded a strange mix of amazed, horrified and thrilled as he called attention to what was going on. "Challenger Zack Hennessy has dived straight, yes, dived straight into the water!"

"He can't be serious…" I said in awe, watching bubbles slowly, lazily rise up to the water's surface.

But he was.

Selphie's advice from the second preliminary suddenly blasted through my mind like a foghorn as I stared at the rippling water. "_Stop gawking! We're timed, remember? Don't pay attention to anyone else!"_

I muttered a thanks to no-one in particular before throwing myself back into the work. The canvas was huge and unwieldy, and a sudden gust of wind threatened to tug it out of my hands altogether, but I quickly righted it. By the time I had threaded the canvas onto the first pole, another gasp sounded from the people around me. I whipped my head up just in time to see the boy, whose name I knew to be Zack, suddenly break the water and surface. He then thrust his arm into the air, and I saw him gripping onto a fiercely wriggling Magikarp by its tail. My mouth hung open as Zack showed off his catch proudly, admist a burst of cheering and applauding from some other competitors.

He splashed back to dry land a few seconds later, almost soaking his bewildered proctor in the process, before presenting his Magikarp. I couldn't help but marvel as I continued wrestling with the unwieldy canvas. He must have been one _hell _of a strong swimmer to pull that one off…

However, despite's Zack success with the Magikarp was short-lived. As soon as it came time for him to tackle the tent and fire, he wavered, seeming to be wholly confused by the entire concept of it. I worked as quickly as I could, but I couldn't help but sneak glances at all the people around me. Evan was working diligently, with his head firmly down. I couldn't see Sam behind her tent, so I had no idea how she was faring. I noticed Natsuki working quickly and efficiently far away to the left, and even as I watched, I saw a fire suddenly blossom under her hands. Again, as I glanced up I saw one of the boys from earlier, who had taken the bite from the Rattata (Chaison, I think his name was), suddenly run towards the water. I gasped, suddenly thinking we were going to have a repeat of Zack's antics, but instead he juddered to a halt, dropped down into a sitting position, his messy brown hair falling over his face. He seized his fishing rod, and after snagging his hook momentarily in his jeans, began to fish.

Only moments later, Elliot too appeared at the water's edge and started to fish, his face marred with concentration. Luca, whom I spotted right in the middle of the area, was struggling with his final tent pole, as I was. Then, seconds later, I heard an excited squeal coming from behind me, and as I turned around to look saw a young girl step back in alarm, her chestnut pigtails swinging madly as she moved, as her fire suddenly burst into flames. She punched the air victoriously, squealed again, this time in pure happiness, and took off towards the water, her little red and white dress billowing out as she ran.

"_Come on Sienna! Concentrate!_" I chastised myself.

Eventually, I got the tent up. My entire body ached with the effort and the physical strength needed, but it was done. That was the important thing. I snuck a glance at my fire, and was glad to see satisfyingly large flames licking up and engulfing the wood. I grinned. Two challenges down and one to go! I immediately ran towards the water's edge, and found myself a good spot, near to a girl wearing a purple fitted jacket.

It occurred to me, as I cast my line out into the water, that I was now oddly calm about the prospect of having to fish. Fair enough, I hadn't fished much before in my life, but I knew the basics and I knew that Magikarp were well-known to be (annoyingly) easy to catch. However, despite my relative ease, I was still shocked after only a few tense minutes of waiting I felt a tug on the end of my line. My heart thudded and in my excitement, I yanked back my line with far more force than I intended to, almost smacking the innocent girl in purple in the face in the process. As I reeled in, I found a Magikarp struggling weakly at the end of my line.

My heart was thudding in my chest and my hands started to tremble just knowing I had done it. I had done all three challenges! My shaking hands made it difficult to thread the poor fish off the line, and the occasional screams of "I've got one! I've got one!" certainly weren't helping my nerves. Eventually I got the fish off the line and gave it to my proctor. He checked it over, before taking it from me and releasing it, and then checking over my tent and fire. For a moment, I was worried that I wouldn't make the grade, but the proctor nodded firmly and told me I had passed. However, to my great annoyance, he didn't tell me my overall time and dismissed me, instructing me to go and stand by the others.

I obediently slinked away, secretly proud that I was one of the few people who had already finished. I was not surprised, however, to see Jade Black standing with his arms firmly crossed at the front of the line of early finishers, his cape gently billowing in the wind. Beside him was the silver haired Celeste, whom Sam had told me was retaining second place overall. As I stood there, a little perplexed, Grey Thomas suddenly appeared, offering me a shy, but beaming, smile. Then Elliot and Scott appeared, joining the ever-expanding line. Slowly, more and more people began joining the ranks. I was beginning to worry as time ticked on about the safety of Jasmine, Bailey and Nikki, but thankfully they all finished reasonably quickly and with respectable times.

But while my travelling party all seemed to be safe, Selphie, worringly, was not faring well.

By the time the majority of people had finished, she had only been able to light her fire. She hadn't even started on her tent or caught her Magikarp yet. It was an agonising wait till the end of the preliminary, and my heart sunk with every second that passed. She was too far away from the sidelines for me to tell if she was angry or upset about her performance. And when it came down to the final two competitors, herself and another young boy, I could barely watch. And when the final whistle was blown as the young boy finally snagged a fish, Selphie was left the last one standing. She hadn't finished. A sad sigh escaped me. There was no way she could have made it now…

I wanted to go to her straight away, see if she was okay, but the announcer started booming loudly among the buzz of chatter, instructing everyone to move back inside where the final results would be announced. I had no time to find Selphie, as I was immediately caught between a massive scrum of people all buzzing like insects from excitement. My own nerves were playing up, wondering if I really _had _done enough to make it through to the battle round…

I didn't have to wait long to find out…

No sooner had we been ushered inside the main hall, the announcer's booming voice rose up again, this time, unfortunately, back through a microphone. "And now, yes, and now, we will announce the twenty trainers moving on to the battles round!"

A hushed silence fell over everyone immediately.

"So, competitors Jade Black, Celeste Archos, Scott Harper, Elliot Wood, and Natsuki Ikebana! Your scores, yes, your scores, are the top five overall for the preliminaries! Congratulations for scoring so well! Please go and stand by the side,"

"Well done, Elliot," I grinned, giving a beaming Elliot a quick kiss before he left.

"Secondly, yes, secondly… the next competitors in the top twenty are…" he paused dramatically before spewing out another set of names. "Zack Hennessey, Grey Thomas, Crow Arabesque, Sienna Volbeda and Jasmine Moore!"

My heart stopped. I'd made it! And even better, I'd made it into the top ten! I practically ran to the other side of the room, dragging a slightly embarrassed Jasmine along with me. I stood there am proudly, unable to wipe the smile from my face. However, a thought struck me… There were only ten places left. Had my other friends made it? Had Nikki and Bailey made it? My heart started to beat faster in my chest, and I singled out Nikki and Bailey in the crowd. Bailey looked completely calm, as if he was at ease with whatever the outcome was, but Nikki looked white-faced and terrified. It was clear she _did _care about the outcome, even if she wasn't a self-confessed fanatic battler…

"Luca Hollingsworth, Evan Garfunkel, Melinda Hughes, Hikaru Brown and Chaison Coffman! Your times have also qualified you for the battle rounds! Please stand by the others!"

Now the panic was beginning to settle in even more. Nikki and Bailey's names _still _hadn't been called. Jasmine cast me a rare nervous glance. She looked just as worried as I felt…

"And finally, yes, finally… the last five competitors to make it through are Robyn Collier, Alicia Nakamura, Nikki Harper, Bailey Gray and Sam—"

An explosion of cheers, angered protests and excited shouts burst out at that point, completely cutting the announcer completely off in his tracks. I squealed with excitement, relieved that Bailey and Nikki had both made it to the battle rounds, but I got a sinking feeling when I caught sight of Selphie, still in the crowd, looking a strange mixture of inherently disappointed, and like she would dearly love to strangle the announcer.

Luca suddenly pulled in next to me. "Selphie didn't make it…" he said softly, his face creased in a soft sadness.

"No," I murmured, before my feet suddenly took on a will of their own and were carrying me across to where Selphie was standing.

I extended my arms as soon as I got close to her, meaning to hug her, but she stepped back, looking a little affronted. At first, I was worried I had offended her, but then the strangest thing happened.

She smiled.

For a moment, I could only gape in the face of what was the last thing I expected her to do. "You better kick some ass in there, Sienna." She said, her dark blue eyes sparkling wickedly.

Her smile was infectious, and despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn't help but return a grin. "You better stick around to watch it,"

"You can count on it," she said, holding out a hand which I promptly took and shook firmly, sealing our deal with a swift nod.

We were interrupted once again when the announcer was suddenly hollering above the noise. "And that concludes, yes, that concludes the preliminary rounds! Congratulations, yes, congratulations to all those who have made it to the battle rounds! Commiserations to all those who did not, yes, did not make it… "

I cast a sad look towards the others who hadn't made it. Inside, I was bubbling with excitement and pride that I had made it all the way to the battle rounds (and in the top ten, no less!) but I couldn't help but feel sorry for the rest of the trainers who hadn't. Especially Selphie…

"All those, yes, all those who have not made it to the battle rounds, please make your way out. However, yes, however, you are all extended an invitation to watch the battle rounds that will be starting in one hour promptly inside Violet City Gym! We hope, yes, hope to see you all there!"

At this point, my heart thudded. As the competitors who had not made it through to the final round all slowly began making their way out, leaving only the battle round competitors behind, I felt a stab of nerves. As I studied all the faces left, I was a little surprised to see that everyone who had made it through were either people I had met, talked to or taken particular attention to during the day. In particular, I caught Jade Black's eye, and he returned me such a fierce glare that it made me flinch.

"And now, yes, and now, would those competitors qualified for the battle round please follow me?" the announcer asked of an unsually silent room. Every single person in that small room had gone quiet as soon as the other competitors had left. Sizing up the competiton, I imagined. "You will now, yes, now draw random lots to determine your first opponent."

This time, instead of thudding, my heart dropped to somewhere in my stomach. Random lots? That meant I could literally end up battling _anybody. _I could end up battling Elliot, Scott, Jasmine, Nikki, Bailey…! Or I could end up against that Jade Black guy! Or Celeste! Or any of the other friends I had made. For one horrible moment, my mind completely went blank. I didn't know right now which one was worst. Battling someone I knew… or battling someone I didn't…

I hadn't even noticed that people were moving towards the announcer until Luca suddenly tugged on my wrist to get my attention. "Sienna, come on. We need to pick numbers…"

"Oh… okay…" I murmured, letting Luca drag me towards the desk. I found myself not able to look at anyone as I moved. I felt a cold sweat engulf me, and my hands began to shake as I worried and fretted over who exactly I was going to end up battling…

But this was it. I couldn't escape it now. I had to battle someone…

I just hoped and prayed it wouldn't be any of my friends…

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Firstly, this chapter is dedicated in loving memory to fellow author and friend, The Derpy Bulbasaur, who passed away tragically two weeks ago. RIP Leppy, you will never be forgotten.**

**I'd like to apologise for the slow updates, they're likely to continue to BE slow for quite some time. I just ask for your patience. **

**Finally, thanks to my reviewes: Sunbean, WarriorSwift, Shadow Serenity 57, WildCroconaw, FindMe215, Shadow of Eckhart, TCo BlackRoses, Aeroga and TwewyReaperGirl. **

**Until next time~**


	26. Let the Battles Begin!

Only a short time later, I found myself staring nervously at the diagram that demonstrated the way the battles were supposed to run for the entire competition. It was definitely a unique system, that was for sure. Competitor one would battle competitor two, and competitor three would battle competitor four, and the winner from the battle between competitors one and two would battle the winner from competitors three and four, and so on and so forth. This pattern would operate over two heats until the twenty competitors would be whittled down to the top five. At this point, the entire system would be changed. The top three battlers, as judged by an independent judging panel, that had been eliminated in the earlier heats, would be brought back, bringing the total number of competitors to eight. The next heat would halve that, giving four competitors, then again it would halve, revealing the top two. Then the top two would battle it out for the championships. It was a completely confusing and alien concept to me, and I struggled to get my head around it. I had never seen a system worked like this before…

"But that means…" Nikki was looking on in abject horror as she consulted the battling diagram, running her long fingers along the paper tacked to the wall. "That means they eliminate _half _the competition in one heat! Even with the three that get to come back, there are lots of trainers that are only gonna get one battle!"

I found myself wincing at just the thought of it. "Only one battle…" I murmured to myself, staring at the empty slots of the battle diagram, feeling my palms beginning to get sweaty. "I hope I manage a little more than that…" My shaky voice seemed to dissipate into the muffled silence, and I sort of wished I could disappear alongside with it…

"Talking to yourself again?"

The noise of a voice in my ear made me jump, and I whipped around straight away in search of its source. Upon turning around, I literally came nose-to-nose with someone. Someone with a familiar wicked smile, a mischievous look and a trademark blue cap.

"Crow!" I cried at once,

He tipped his hat to me with another cheeky smile. I returned the smile, but before I could engage him in conversation, I realised he wasn't alone. There was a girl standing by his side. She looked horribly nervous, hiding behind a curtain of wavy brown curls and a sweeping fringe, her large hazel eyes wide behind a pair of dark purple glasses. She had such an expression of fear and worry that it actually made me wince. She looked like this was the last place on earth she wanted to be, almost like she'd love to shrink into the folds of the purple fitted jacket she was wearing.

The purple fitted jacket caught my attention, sparking a memory I had buried somewhere at the back of my mind. I recognised this girl! I had seen her before. I'd seen Crow talking to her earlier on in the day, and this was the exact same girl I'd almost hit in the face with my fishing rod during the third preliminary! My mouth swung open, my first instinct to hastily apologise for my antics, but Crow was speaking before I could say anything.

"Good to see you made it, Sienna. And your friends too, I presume…?" he smiled, indicating with an almost lazy wave of his hand to the throng of people congregating behind me. I glanced back at them, but they were all too preoccupied with their own devices to notice I wasn't around.

Despite it, I still smiled. "Yeah, we all made it,"

It was then that he seemed to remember the presence of the highly nervous and uncomfortable looking girl standing by his side, and he laughed, his laugh surprisingly light and good-natured. "Ah, where are my manners. Sienna, meet Robyn. Robyn, this is Sienna," He said smoothly, immediately oozing charm and sophistication the second he opened his mouth.

I offered the nervous girl a smile. "Robyn, huh? Nice to meet you,"

"… y-you too," she stuttered.

At a loss for what to say to her, I replied with the only thing that came to my mind. "Uhh, s-sorry about almost hitting you with my fishing rod earlier…" I apologised meekly.

"Oh!" her eyes widened a little. "Oh, no, don't worry about it. It was an accident, after all…"

"What's this, Sienna?" Crow cocked an eyebrow at me in mock amusement. "You're going around trying to knock out the other competitors? Literally?"

"No!" I protested at once, but then I caught sight of the wicked grin on Crow's face. He was only teasing. I realised this with some degree of foolishness and couldn't help a slight blush spreading across my cheeks. I compensated by letting out a haughty sigh and folding my arms in the best imitation of anger that I could. This however, seemed to make Crow laugh even more.

"Gotcha," he said with a wink, before suddenly becoming official again. "Well, ladies." He said seriously. "What do you make of the competition?"

Robyn's eyes went wide behind her glasses. "S-some of these people scare me…"

"Me too," I admitted, wincing slightly

Crow seemed to find our hesitation and apprehension quite amusing, and chuckled to himself quite merrily. "Well I don't think—"

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer suddenly bellowed out, cutting Crow completely off in his tracks. I noticed a lot of other people turning very irked faces in the announcer's direction. Looks like I wasn't the only one getting close to strangling him with my bare hands. "If you would all, yes, if you would all like to line up, you may take your number which will determine your opponents for the first heat!

On the announcer's instructions, all the competitors formed a haphazard line up to the desk. Somehow I ended up squashed in between Elliot and Crow. In the midst of the claustrophobic surroundings, Elliot reached behind him to squeeze my hand. I was incredibly thankful for this, as the nerves had set back in with a vengeance.

I had to crane my neck to see as the first person stepped up to draw their number. I recognised her immediately as the perpetually cheery and happy Hikaru. Who couldn't fail to remember her, after all? The explosion of colour she called an "outfit" almost guaranteed her a spot in your memory.

After a few tense moments, the announcer was crying out again. "And Hikaru Brown has drawn, yes, Hikaru Brown has drawn spot number 14!"

Things moved remarkably quickly and painlessly from that point on. Following Hikaru, competitor Zack Hennessy, now famous for catching a Magikarp with his _bare hands_, took his number. He drew number 4, and shuffled to his corresponding place, looking slightly dazed at the whole procedure. Luca was up next, drawing number 10. Sam followed, drawing number 7. The boy who had had the problems with the Rattata in the second preliminary, Chaison Coffman, took number 19. Melinda was next, drawing number 1. Then, one of our own, Scott, stepped up and drew number 6. Next was the tiny little girl with the red dress, who was named Alicia Nakamura. She drew number 20.

"So that Chaison guy and that Alicia are battling…" I heard Crow murmur from behind me. "Interesting…"

Nikki was up next after Alicia. She looked positively terrified as she drew number 17 and took her place. Following on from her, it was Elliot's turn, and I let out a little murmur of worry as his hand left mine. He drew number 12.

Then it was my turn. My legs felt like jelly and my hands were shaking as I went up and pulled out a number, hardly able to look anyone in the eyes. Number 16 stared back at me in thick black font. This meant my opponent hadn't been determined yet. I wasn't sure if I was glad of this or not. I was also conscious of the fact that although I had somehow managed to avoid battling someone like Elliot, Scott or Nikki, I wasn't out of danger yet. Bailey and Jasmine were still to draw numbers, and people like Jade Black and Natsuki Ikebana were also still waiting in the wings…

Crow was next, pulling out number 2 with a sort of effortless nonchalance. He'd be facing Melinda. He even stopped to shake her hand and tip his hat to her in his usual charming way, making her fluster and blush slightly.

I was too busy watching this exchange between Melinda and Crow that I didn't even notice as the next competitor came up to draw their number. My attention was immediately drawn however, when the announcer excitedly called out:

"And Robyn Collier has drawn number… 15!"

My heart gave an ominous twist and sunk to somewhere in my stomach. I whipped my head around, my mouth hanging open as I saw that shy girl that Crow had introduced me to now making her way towards the number 15 spot.

"_Fifteen_!" I thought in horror. "_No… but number fifteen is _my _opponent! I have to fight Robyn!"_

She took her place next to me, looking nervous again. "It… it looks like… we're battling each other, huh?" she murmured, her voice that soft and shy that I could barely pick up on what she was saying.

I could say nothing more than "L-looks like it…"

Despite my horror at discovering who my opponent was, I had no option but to stay quiet as the proceedings carried on. After Robyn, it was the turn of Natsuki Ikebana, the girl whose very presence made me feel nervous and uneasy. She drew number 3. Celeste, the girl who had clung onto second place throughout the entire of the preliminaries, looked perfectly calm as she drew number 9, but I saw Luca, whose opponent she was to be, look terrified as she stepped up next to him.

The room went completely silent as Jade Black pulled out a number. For a long, tense moment, everyone seemed to hold their breath as Jade studied the number he had been given, then held it up for the announcer to see. Number 8. I could practically _feel _the sigh of relief some of the other trainers exerted as they realised they wouldn't be battling him. I felt inherently sorry for that sweet girl, Sam, who had the misfortune of being Jade's opponent. However, while Sam certainly looked a little nervous, she also had a look of fierce determination on her face. I suddenly got the feeling she was going to give Jade a run for his money…

With the majority of people now with an opponent, the tension in the room rose once again as the final competitors stepped forward. Bailey was next, looking calm as ever, even when he pulled out unlucky number 13, giving him Hikaru Brown as an opponent.

Jasmine was next. I clenched my hands, wondering who she'd end up battling. There were still three of our own party still without opponents (Elliot, Nikki and Scott), and the only other options were Evan and Grey. None of the options looked particularly favourable…

But my worst fear and the worst possible outcome was confirmed. She pulled out number 18. Her opponent was going to be Nikki. As soon as both girls realised this, they both looked horrified. Nikki let out a cry of despair and sunk her head in her hands, and I had strong suspicion she had burst into tears. Jasmine's face dropped, then twisted in annoyance, before creasing in a rare glimpse of sadness. She made her way to stand beside Nikki, her head bowed, refusing to make eye contact.

With Jasmine now paired up, there were only two remaining trainers: Evan Garfunkel and Grey Thomas. Unfortunately for them, the only people left were Elliot and Scott. I almost didn't dare breathe as Grey pulled out Scott as an opponent, leaving Evan to battle against Elliot.

It was at that moment that someone swept in, pinning a large sheet of paper to the wall next to the announcer. The announcer consulted the sheet for a moment, before turning to all us competitors, a beaming smile spreading across his portly face. "So, ladies and gentlemen!" he cried, sounding like he was positively on top of the world. "We have, yes, we have our final heat results!"

Almost immediately, everyone descended on the sheet that had been pinned up. Out of curiosity, I too pushed my way straight to the sheet. It read:

_**Heat One Battles**_

_**Melinda Hughes v. Crow Arabesque**_

_**Natsuki Ikebana v. Zack Hennessey**_

_**Grey Thomas v. Scott Harper**_

_**Sam v. Jade Black**_

_**Celeste Archos v. Luca Hollingsworth**_

_**Evan Gerald Garfunkel v. Elliot Wood**_

_**Bailey Gray v. Hikaru Brown**_

_**Robyn Collier v. Sienna Volbeda**_

_**Nikki Harper v. Jasmine Moore**_

_**Chaison Coffman v. Alicia Nakamura**_

Seeing it all in black and white made things even more scary and unbelievable. As I scanned the sheet, the thoughts of some of the battles made me both quiver with a strange sort of fear, but at the same time feel a jolt of eager anticipation.

"There are some really, uh, interesting match-ups here, huh…?" I murmured aloud to no-one in particular.

There was silence. No-one responded to me. When I turned around to try and figure out why, I saw a near hysterical Nikki being comforted by Elliot and Bailey, and a stony-faced Jasmine arguing with the announcer, while Scott watched the whole procedure with a look of mild irritation. My heart sunk to somewhere in my stomach…

"They're not taking the news they're battling each other that well, are they…?" Grey suddenly appeared by my side, also looking a little nervous.

"They're best friends. _We're _best friends, the three of us…" I sighed sadly. "I had a feeling someone was going to end up battling someone they didn't like…"

"Hey, at least you're not battling Scott," Grey said with a nervous chuckle. "Word around here is that he's someone to watch…"

"That he is," I murmured.

We had no more time to talk however, as the announcer suddenly swept back into the room, giving us instructions to make our way to the Violet City Gym, where the battles would be held.

We made our way there in a strange, solemn silence. No-one from our group spoke. Not even the perpetually cheerful Bailey looked remotely interested in opening his mouth, choosing instead to alternate between casting concerned looks to a still upset Nikki and a still fuming Jasmine. I sighed in worry, clinging onto Elliot's hand like a little child, praying that things would somehow work out okay…

Upon reaching the intimidating and scarily tall building of the Gym, instead of being lead straight into the main battling arena like I assumed we would, the group was split. The competitors holding odd numbers were split from those holding the even numbers, in order to separate opponents. This of course didn't apply to Crow and Melinda who were ushered away into the depths of the gym as they were battling first. Myself, Zack, Scott, Jade, Luca, Elliot, Hikaru, Jasmine and Alicia were very quickly separated from the others, and led through a chain of corridors and up several very long flights of steps, before emerging in a balcony that looked down over the entire gym. The next thing I noticed was that there was no roof to this Gym! Everything was completely open to the skies. As an unexpected cold wind hit me, I breathed in sharply and let out an instinctive gasp. I glanced to the side and realised that I could see part of the city all set out and rolling into the horizon as far as the eye could see. We must have been so high up!

"Sienna, look at all the people…" I heard Jasmine say in an unusually hushed voice from next to me.

"Whoa…" I said in awe as I too caught sight of the bleachers and stands. A sea of faces and interlocking slabs of colours were reflected back at me, and the noises of a buzzing crowd reached my ears. It looked like every single seat in those stands were filled. There could easily have been hundreds of people there.

All here to watch the battles…

Suddenly, I felt physically sick.

I didn't get a chance to think about it any longer as all of a sudden, with a screech of the microphone, the announcer was back, silencing the excited crowd with one word.

"Welcome! Yes, welcome to the annual Violet City battling tournament! We have twenty, yes, twenty exciting competitors to showcase to you today! It promises, yes, it promises to be an exciting competition!"

Ecstatic cheers burst out. When the applause finally died down, the announcer continued with a beaming smile.

"So, without further ado, yes, without further ado, we shall begin the first heat! For our first battle, yes, the first battle, please welcome Melinda Hughes from Sunnyshore City!"

The crowd cheered and applauded as Melinda nervously appeared from the dugouts on the left side of the battlefield. As her face flashed up on the giant overhead screens, I couldn't help but notice she looked nervous, twisting a lock of her bronze hair around her long fingers. She took her place, still looking nervous. I applauded as loudly as I could, hoping to at least give her some manner of confidence.

"And she will be battling Crow Arabesque from Violet City!"

Crow strode confidently from the right hand side dug-outs, right underneath us, looking totally unfazed at the cheering crowds. He even stopped to wave, almost like a celebrity would wave at an adoring public. However, when he reached his spot opposite Melinda, he removed his hat and dropped into a small bow, before shooting her a dazzling smile.

"Now before the round begins, I have, yes, I have an announcement!" the announcer was shouting into the microphone, instantly silencing the crowd. "Due to time constraints, the first heat, yes, the first heat will be reduced to only two-on-two matches! So this means, yes, this means, that the first trainer to lose two Pokemon, yes, two Pokemon will be eliminated!"

"What?" I cried, as the balcony we were standing in also exploded in protests from the other trainers. "Only two-on-two?"

"They're testing us even more," Jasmine said, coming to stand by me as I leaned over the balcony. "You noticed they never asked us to tell them our Pokemon teams, so the opponents have no way of knowing what we have… and we have no way of knowing what _they _have. And then they expect us to pick what we consider to be our best two, without even seeing our opponent's Pokemon…"

I grimaced. "They really do like to torture us, huh?"

Our discussion was completely interrupted as at that point, the battle began. A strange, solemn quiet ran through the entire Gym as the two trainers faced off against each other. Melinda, looking nervous and slightly jittery, Crow, looking calm and sophisticated.

At that point, I didn't know who I was rooting for more…

Melinda moved first, nocking a Pokeball from her belt and throwing it high into the air, with a cry of "Tweety, let's go!"

Her Pokemon, Tweety, turned out to be a Togekiss. I let out an awed gasp as the Pokemon floating serenely into the middle of the battlefield, eyeing Crow. Crow's face betrayed no emotions as he too released a Pokemon.

"Gienah, you're up!"

Gienah turned out to be a Ninjask, that flitted around the battlefield energetically, moving at such a fast speed I could barely focus on it. Attempting to focus on it actually made me feel mildly dizzy…

"And the first match is Togekiss versus Ninjask, yes, Togekiss versus Ninjask! There will be no time limit, no substitutions, and no use of items!"

"No substitutions?" I gasped at the announcer's words. "And no items! Seriously!"

"You may begin!"

The battle wasted no time in getting started. No sooner had the word "begin" left the announcer's mouth, Crow jumped into action, immediately ordering a Double Team. Within seconds, the entire battlefield was flooded with copies of the Ninjask, leaving Melinda looking flustered and the Togekiss looking alarmed.

She bravely fought back, ordering her Togekiss to use a Sky Attack. But the Ninjask clones were too fast for even the Togekiss to hit, and the move proved completely ineffective. Crow, seeing his opportunity, ordered Gienah the Ninjask to use X-Scissor. The move was a direct hit, sending an injured Togekiss spiralling across the battlefield until it hit the ground.

Melinda gasped, looking horrified as her Pokemon struggled to get back up again. But there was a sense of renewed determination in her eyes, as she ordered another attack. This time, the Extremespeed she ordered _was _fast enough, and Tweety the Togekiss dashed across the battlefield, taking out every single Ninjask clone, before eventually finding the real one, and damaging it. Crow looked a little shocked, and ordered a Swords Dance in retaliation, giving his Pokemon a sharp boost in its attacking power. Subsequently, when the next ordered X-Scissor hit, the Togekiss was barely able to stand up to it. It was at this point that Melinda recalled her Togekiss, looking dejected.

With the score now standing at one win to Crow, the pressure was on Melinda now. If she lost the next battle, she would be eliminated from the competition completely. I saw her face twist in concern and worry on the overhead screen, as she reached for the Pokeball at the back of her belt.

Her voice rose loud and clear above the deathly silence. "Lucia! Let's go!"

Lucia turned out to be a Jolteon. A Jolteon that send a look of unmistakable worry over Crow's face as his Ninjask flitted around his head. Melinda wasted no time, ordering an Agility to bring her Jolteon up to maximum speed, allowing it to zoom up right in front of the Ninjask, delivering a close-range Thunderbolt that proved fatal for the Bug type. It didn't stand a chance. After barely a minute of battling, frazzled and completely burnt out, the Ninjask dropped to the ground, evening the score at one win apiece.

Lucia the Jolteon puffed up its spiky fur in pride as Crow recalled his Ninjask. At this point, I noticed here was soft conversation going on between the two trainers that I couldn't pick out, despite the deathly silence of the crowd, and no matter how hard I strained my ears. I desperately wanted to know what they were saying to each other…

After a short conversation, the battle resumed. Crow's hand slowly moved towards his belt and he plucked out a Pokeball, spun it on his finger and released it in one fluid movement. "Go, Deneb!"

Deneb turned out to be a Breloom, whose initial rather carefree look immediately melted away to be replaced with a look of steadfast determination as soon as it spotted the Jolteon standing across the battlefield. Crow ordered his Deneb to start straight away, bombarding the Jolteon with a barrage of powerful Seed Bombs. However, Melinda had Lucia the Jolteon use Agility once again, to speed straight up to the attacking Pokemon, nailing it with a close range Iron Tail. Deneb was wounded from the attack, but fought back, delivering a Focus Punch while the Jolteon was still close by.

The two Pokemon carried on like this for quite some time, exchanging blows whenever either opponent dared to get too close. I was hanging over the railings, my heart thudding, watching both trainer's expressions. Crow never seemed to lose his cool as he issued attack after attack, but Melinda was showing signs of stress. Her Jolteon's movements became erratic as she faltered, until eventually, she made a fatal error…

Crow called for a Spore attack, and Melinda called for Extremespeed at exactly the same time. The Jolteon couldn't even slow down, much less stop, and ran straight into the spores, instantly paralysed. The poor Jolteon was a sitting duck for a barrage of Focus Punches and Seed Bombs, and the Pokemon simply couldn't stand up to it, passing out after a few agonising minutes of complete bombardment.

I didn't know how to react or how I should feel when I saw a crushed Melinda recall her down-and-out Jolteon, accepting her loss with a handshake from Crow. I wasn't sure if I should be happy that Crow, just as much my friend as Melinda was, had won, or upset that Melinda had lost…

Before we knew it, it was time for the second battle.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, yes, now we begin the second battle! Please welcome Natsuki Ikebana from Lavender Town!"

My eyes automatically fell on Natsuki as she slowly glided onto the battleground. As she moved, an eerie hush fell over the entire gym. Even the announcer looked a little intimidated as she moved closer to him. The camera zoomed in on her face and I caught a look of almost steely resolve reflected in her scarily light eyes…

"And Zack Henessey from Cerulean City!"

It took a few moments for a dazed looking Zack to wander onto the battlefield. He didn't even look like he had completely registered where he _was _yet as he ambled slowly towards his starting point, his eyes ever-so-slightly glazed over…

Once the order was given for the battle to being, Natsuki Ikebana moved first. With an almost indecipherable movement, the merest flick of her skinny wrist, she released her first Pokemon, which was one I had never seen before! This Pokemon, which resembled a floating candle, had the nickname Angel, but that was all I could tell about it. I didn't know its _type, _much less its species name…

Zack looked just as flummoxed by his opponent's Pokemon as I felt, and he dithered for a long time before releasing a rather serious looking Golduck into the fray. I noticed Natsuki's expression change, only slightly, on the overhead screen. I tensed. I had the feeling this was going to be interesting.

Again, Natsuki claimed first movement. Her voice was piercing, rising effortlessly above the silence. "Angel, use Smog!"

The Smog attack took almost immediate effect on the Golduck, the effects of poison instantly hitting the duck Pokemon. But Zack wasn't one to be deterred, having his Golduck fight back with a Water Pulse, followed by particularly nasty Surf. This, to my complete shock, KO'd the strange Pokemon that Natsuki called Angel. Just like that. Over, within a few short minutes.

"No contest, really."

I almost jumped six feet in the air as the voice sounded next to me. As I turned, I caught sight of a mess of blonde hair and a billowing cloak, and my heart sunk. Jade Black was standing literally only feet away from me. I nervously glanced behind me, looking for my friends, but everyone was clustered at the other edge of the balcony, intently watching the battle. I swallowed a lump the size of a walnut. I had no choice but to speak to him

"What do you mean…?" I asked hoarsely.

"I don't know why she opened with such a weak Pokemon," he said, somewhat scathingly. "A Fire type didn't stand a chance against that Golduck anyway."

"That's a Fire type?"

Jade surveyed me, his piercing blue eyes seeming to stare straight through me. "Of course. Dual Fire and Ghost, if you want to be technical."

"A Ghost type, huh…?" I murmured, taking my attention off Jade for a moment and refocusing on Natsuki. I fought the urge to facepalm in embarrassment as the proverbial light bulb snapped on above my head. How had I not seen that before…? It was so obvious now. That girl and Ghost Pokemon just seemed to _fit _together.

My theory was proven right as Natsuki released a second Ghost type, this one a Misdreaveus to take on Zack's Golduck. I turned around, looking for Jade again, wondering what had prompted him to speak to me, but instead was faced with the comparably more smiley and unthreatening face of the young girl with the red dress and pigtails who I now knew to be named Alicia Nakamura.

"Good battles, huh?" she cried excitedly, as the clash of Misdreaveus and Golduck got underway down on the battleground.

I could only nod.

Zack's Golduck proved to be an unfortunate easy target for Natsuki's Misdreaveus. The maniacal looking Ghost type got straight in with a perfectly aimed Confuse Ray, stopping the Golduck completely in its tracks, leaving it a wide open target for a double whammy of Psywave and Shadow Ball.

Zack recalled his Golduck, sending out a wickedly fast Staraptor to take charge instead. My initial gut feeling told me that Zack would have the edge here, but I was proven completely wrong. Misdreaveus took out the bird Pokemon in almost exactly the same fashion it had taken out the Golduck, and in record time…

The funny thing was that Zack didn't even look remotely bothered in the face of his defeat. He merely shrugged, recalled his Staraptor, and ambled back into the dugout, not even pausing to shake hands with Natsuki. I don't even think he _registered _the fact she was even _there_. I blinked at his retreating back, a look of confusion no doubt spreading over my face.

"Well…" I murmured, at a complete loss. "He took that well,"

"Too well," Jasmine grumbled from nearby.

With the battle between Zack and Natsuki coming to an abrupt end, it was time for the third battle to begin. It marked the first time one of our own party would enter the battlefield. I was strangely a bundle of nerves as I watched Scott leave the balcony and disappear from sight down the stairs. After a few tense moments, he and his opponent Grey appeared at opposite ends of the battleground.

"For our next battle, yes, for our next battle, please welcome Scott Harper of Fuchsia City! And Grey Thomas from Blackthorn City!"

"This one is going to be interesting, huh?" I remarked to Elliot, who to my surprise, looked very nervous to be watching this particular battle.

He nodded in reply, his eyes never leaving the battlefield as the two young men squared off against each other. The announcer barely had time to issue the rules for the battle before Scott and Grey were both pulling out Pokeballs and had released their first Pokemon.

My jaw dropped as soon as the Pokemon were revealed. "You… can't be serious…?"

On Grey's side, a massive Snorlax stood rather unsteadily on its feet, its bleary tired eyes barely looking like they were focused. On Scott's side was a Rhydon, almost as big, fierce and intimidating looking as the Snorlax it was currently facing. Both Pokemon let out an almighty bellow, and as I scanned both trainers' faces, noticed almost scarily similar looks of cool sophistication and confidence encompassing them.

"Edison! Zen Headbutt, now!" Grey yelled out.

"Rhydon, counter it with Take Down!"

It was like a clash of giants as the two Pokemon collided, their giant feet digging into the ground, wrestling viciously with each other, attempting to knock the other off balance. While Grey shouted encouragement to his Snorlax, Scott remained stubbornly quiet, his dark eyes never shifting from the scene in front of him.

Scott's Rhydon, huge and intimidating as it was, simply couldn't stand up to the bulk of the Snorlax and eventually had to release the giant creature in order to ensure its own safety. However, it seemed to work in Scott and Rhydon's advantage, the Rhydon's sudden movement and release knocking the weighty Snorlax off balance. It teetered on its feet, ominously looking like it was about to crash to the ground. It didn't fall over, but it was enough. While the giant Snorlax wobbled ominously on its feet, the Rhydon rounded on it, executing a powerful, close-range Rock Blast.

However, while the attack seemed powerful of its own right, it didn't seem to affect the Snorlax's health negatively. In fact, it only seemed to enrage the giant creature and spur on Grey, who ordered an all out offence, with Fire Punch and Body Slam. But Rhydon took the hits well, fighting back with just as much steely determination as the Snorlax had.

This particular bout went on for a long time. Edison the Snorlax and Scott's Rhydon were equally matched in bulk and brute strength, and with attacks on either side proving to be almost ineffective against the other, the two Pokemon had no choice but to chip away at the other's defences until they wore each other down.

The first round finally ended a full and agonising fifteen minutes after it started, after Snorlax was knocked off balance by Scott's Rhydon as it used a vicious Earthquake to shake the whole arena. With the Snorlax grounded, Rhydon barraged it with a Stone Edge, completely knocking the Pokemon unconscious.

Grey didn't look overly concerned as he recalled his Snorlax. He didn't even hesitate in pulling out his second Pokeball, which he tossed into the arena almost carelessly. I wouldn't say it was arrogance that was reflected on his face and in his eyes, but a calm, quiet confidence.

I knew why as soon as the Pokemon he had chosen burst out into the field.

A Swampert.

I caught Elliot's eye at this point. "Even Scott is going to have a hard time winning against that Swampert with a Rock and Ground type," he remarked, looking strangely concerned.

I nodded, worry suddenly encompassing me. I had never doubted Scott's abilities as a Pokemon trainer before now, but seeing his already exhausted Rhydon now having to face off against a vicious Swampert made me far more scared that I dared to admit. So far as I remembered, Scott seemed to favour Rock and Ground types… Aside from his Quagsire and Pidgeot, who would be just as ineffective against the Swampert, all the rest of his team, to my knowledge, were Rock and Ground types. Up until now, I was convinced it was a given that Scott would make it through the first heat, possibly even sail straight through into the final. Now, I wasn't so sure. My hands clenched of their own accord as I studied Scott's face intently. He still looked cool, calm and collected. The very image of confidence despite the odds he was facing…

"Rhydon, use Earthquake."

But quick as anything, Grey was shouting an order. "Valentine, counter with Earthquake!"

My heart dropped somewhere to my stomach. "They're not serious!" I cried out in shock.

But they were. I fought the urge to scream, suddenly filled with a terrible fear that the use of two such equally strong attacks would completely tear apart the building. I grabbed Elliot in my panic and clung on to him instinctively.

I could barely watch as the two earthquakes ripped straight through the battleground, kicking up deep cracks, a horrible ominous rumbling reaching my ears. However, as the earthquakes collided, while I expected devastation and total carnage, the two attacks merely cancelled each other out, and everything became still.

Which left the field completely wide open for attack.

Scott got in quickly, ordering his Rhydon to send a Rock Blast in the Swampert's direction, but the Water Pokemon shot down each and every massive boulder that the Rock Pokemon sent in its direction with powerful jets of water. On the overhead screen I saw Scott's face crease in concern, only momentarily, but enough for the announcer to notice and report gleefully to the crowd. I swallowed hard. For Scott to look like that, even briefly, it was obvious that he was concerned…

It turned out, he was right to be. Within only a few minutes, despite the Rhydon's best efforts, Grey's Swampert dispatched the already fatigued and exhausted Pokemon with the lethal combination of an Ice Beam, followed immediately by a Water Pulse. The Pokemon simply could not stand up to it, and collapsed.

With Rhydon out, and the score tied at one win each, the pressure was on. Scott deliberated carefully over his choice before releasing his massive Pidgeot into the arena. The fight was continued almost immediately, Grey ordering his massive Swampert to use Water Pulse in an attempt to shoot the bird down from the air. Scott's giant Pidgeot once again proved it was deceptively fast and agile, sending a gasp issuing from the crowd as it soared above the attack, seemingly effortlessly.

Scott's next order surprised me. I always assumed Scott to be a trainer who focused on physical attacks and offensive moves and strategies, so when he called out for a Sand Attack, I was momentarily stunned. His Pidgeot responded instantly, taking advantage of the wide open space of the gym battleground to soar high in the air, out of range of any attacks. As soon as it slowed down, it kicked up a thick gust of sand and dust, sending a cloud of it straight towards the Water type. It surrounded the giant Swampert, the dust and sand particles stinging at its eyes, making it roar in irritation.

"Valentine!" I could just hear Grey shouting in concern as the Sand Attack eventually died down, and his blinded Pokemon tried desperately to remove the sandy grit from its eyes. "Are you okay, buddy?"

And then I heard Scott call out. "Pidgeot! Finish it! Twister, followed by Aerial Ace!"

Elliot tensed, his head whipping around to look at me. His eyes were wide. "Is he mad? Flying moves don't work well on Ground types!" he cried, running a hand frantically through his hair. "I admire his courage, but he'll never win if he just uses Flying type moves!"

"Have a little faith in him!" I replied. "He could—"

I was abruptly cut off when a vicious gale suddenly ripped through the entire gym, catching my hair and sending it billowing, the wind suddenly biting at my exposed skin. Peering through the fronds of my hair, I could just make out Scott's Pidgeot, high above the ground, flapping its huge wings, causing vicious gusts to sweep the battlefield. These gusts seemed to culminate in what I could only describe as a miniature tornado that quickly ensnared the Swampert, trapping it. As it got stronger and stronger, the winds increasing in power, I could barely even see what was going on. All I could take in were the noises of the wind rushing in my ear, the screech of the microphone and various people screaming and shouting in awe.

After what felt like several long hours, the winds eventually settled and died down. When everything calmed, I immediately dashed to the balcony again to look out on the field. My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Grey's Swampert was barely standing on its feet, a bloodied gash straight across its rough hide, Scott's Pidgeot circling the air above it, eyeing it closely.

I turned to Elliot, whose mouth was hanging wide open in shock. Knowing nothing I could say would accurately sum up either of what Elliot or I were no doubt feeling, I chose to remain silent.

"_How… how is that possible…?_" I thought in shock, barely able to register what I was seeing down there. "_Pidgeot shouldn't win against Ground types! And not when he was using just Flying type moves! It… it can't be possible!_"

"Uhh, well, yes," the announcer's voice cut through my thoughts, and I looked down to see him looking a little perplexed as he looked at the state of the gym grounds. Seats and debris had been totally ripped up and scattered along the battleground, complete with about an inch thick of sand and dust covering everything in sight. I found myself wincing. There was no way that people could battle there, not till it was cleared up.

After consulting with another proctor for a brief moment, the announcer hastily cleared his throat and spoke again. "Well, with Scott Harper proving the victor, we will take a short, yes, a short break to clean up! The next battle will begin in half an hour, yes, half an hour!"

The place was deathly silent as both Grey and Scott stoically left the battlefield. Scott showed no signs of glee or pride in his victory, and Grey showed no sense of bitterness or disappointment at his loss. Yes, I didn't know Grey that well, so I didn't know if this was typical of him, but he had seemed like such a cheerful, optimistic guy when I had met him… I didn't like seeing anyone like that, especially such a nice guy like Grey…

"_It's such a shame he had to battle Scott…" _I thought to myself sadly. "_If that was anyone else but Scott, there's no way they would have even stood a chance. I know _I _would never have been able to win against him. Something… something about that just doesn't seem _fair."

There was an uneasy silence, until all of a sudden, Elliot's voice permeated my hazy consciousness. "Well, we've got half an hour till the next battle," he ventured. Wanna go grab a drink or something?"

"Sure…" I replied, admittedly only half-listening to his request. I cast glances at the other competitors, Jasmine in particular, but she seemed distracted by something going on in the stands. I tried to catch Luca's eye, but before I could even open my mouth, let alone invite him along, Elliot had taken me by the hand and was leading me away.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Sorry for the wait, guys! I'm doing my best, honestly I am. **

**Couple of things. Yes, if anyone is wondering, the battles (and victors) of each heat were decided totally at random, through basically random number generators and picking names out of hats. So, your OC's opponents and if your OC is successful or not in their battles wholly depended on luck, basically... I felt it was the fairest way, to be honest. I didn't want to favour anyone or any OC in particular. **

**Secondly, I'm hoping to increase update speed, but please bear with cos this arc is so tough to write...**

**Thirdly, I'm so sorry if this chapter is terrible... I really did my best, but it's just so difficult...**

**Lastly, thanks so much to my reviewers: WarriorSwift, WildCroconaw, Shadow of Eckhart, WOWFan123, FindMe215, Hikaru-Pichu, TCoBlackRoses, GentleBlossom, ArchXDeath, Brave Soul RMS, TwewyReaperGirl, Aeorga, Sunbean and Alwayssearching2012 (sorry, but OC submissions are closed and I cannot accept your OC. I'm really sorry)**

**Until next time :D **


	27. Keep Calm and Battle On

Peering over the rim of my half drunk can of lemonade; I immediately noticed Elliot looking nervously around the room, his eyes darting around, refusing to settle on anything. He was jiggling his left leg up and down, a sure sign that he was tense. I swallowed down the last of the juice, keeping a close eye on him all the while. It was only after the can was empty that I dared to speak.

"Elliot?" I ventured slowly. "Are you all right? You look… distracted?"

For a moment, I almost didn't expect him to respond, but then he set his own can of juice down and spoke up. "I'm nervous," he admitted, and I noticed he wouldn't meet my eye as he said so. "Seeing Scott battle like that, I was convinced he was going to lose… And I didn't want him to lose."

"I know," I murmured. "It would be horrible to lose one of our own group so soon…"

"Mm," Elliot said noncommittally. Then there was a pause as he glanced around, looking slightly uncomfortable. He then cleared his throat loudly and deliberately. "But call me crazy…" he murmured. "I would actually really love to battle Scott in this tournament. _That's_ why I don't want him to lose…"

I blinked in surprise. "You want to _battle_ Scott?"

"Of course," Elliot looked a little sheepish. "Did you not see that Pidgeot of his? That was incredible what he did. For a Flying Pokemon to pull off that kind of Dragon type move, let alone do it so well is nothing short of amazing." He took a long draught from his can. "That's the kind of person I want to battle. That's the kind of trainer I've been _needing _to battle for a long time…"

I opened my mouth to reply, but it was at that point that an irate Jasmine suddenly appeared, poking her head around the door of the small rest room we were currently sitting in. "What are you guys dawdling for!" She snapped. "The next battle's about to start!"

"It's been half an hour already?" I said in surprise.

"_Yes, _it has been half an hour already!" Jasmine hissed, before disappearing, and slamming the door behind her.

Elliot blinked as the door slammed shut. "What's wrong with her…?"

"Probably worrying about her battle with Nikki," I sighed, pushing myself back onto my feet. "Anyway, we should go… What battle is next?"

"Jade Black's," Elliot said as he took my hand, leading me towards the door. He looked thoughtful as we began to slowly climb the stairs back up to the balcony. "He's another one I wouldn't mind battling…" he said slowly.

I nodded. "He'll have to win his battle here then…"

"You think he will?" Elliot asked me, and I felt his grip tighten around my hand slightly.

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "Somehow I think his opponent could give him a run for his money…"

"That Sam girl?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Something tells me there's more to that girl than meets the eye."

"Something tells me there's more to _everyone _here than meets the eye," Elliot managed to say with a jokey smile as we emerged back out onto the cold balcony.

No sooner had we stepped out, the noise of opening Pokeballs and roaring Pokemon immediately rang out. Elliot and I glanced at each other in disbelief and then automatically dashed forward to the balcony. I barely even registered everyone else in the clamouring group who were all desperate to get a get a good seat for this highly anticipated battle as I pushed my way to the front. As I looked out onto the battlefield, my eyes picked out the figures of Jade and Sam straight away. After locating the trainers, I immediately sought out their Pokemon. On Sam's side, a Flareon. On Jade's side, a Claydol. The two Pokemon were circling each other warily, but not attacking, merely sizing each other up.

Sam ordered her Flareon to use Quick Attack, which allowed the Pokemon to dash straight up to the Claydol, easily avoiding an incoming Rock Throw. Sam's Flareon tried to attack with a powerful looking Fire Fang, but Jade, calm and collected as ever, ordered his Claydol to use Rapid Spin. His Pokemon's erratic spinning movement prevented the Pokemon from even getting close; let alone attacking, without risk of damaging itself…

Sam wasn't to be deterred by Jade's strategy, and ordered a Fire Spin. However, Jade's Claydol seemed totally unaffected by the close range Fire attack, the flames barely even licking the Pokemon's bulky body as it continued to spin. It then fought back, delivering a powerful Confusion that knocked the Flareon clean across the battlefield.

I winced as the Flareon crashed heavily to the ground and slid across the battlefield for a good couple of feet. However, the Pokemon was back up on its feet straight away, darting lithely straight towards the Claydol, executing another close range Fire Fang, followed up by a Fire Spin. The Claydol took damage this time, but this time it was able to give damage this time too. With a bellow, the Claydol shot another Rock Throw, this one collided head on with the Flareon, drawing blood from its face. While the Pokemon stopped in its tracks, howling in pain, the Claydol sealed the deal with a Confusion that completely knocked out the Fire Pokemon.

Sam looked horrified as she caught sight of the state of her Pokemon, and she ran straight out into the middle of the battlefield to cradle her injured Pokemon in her arms. Jade watched her throughout the whole proceeding, one eyebrow slightly cocked. Eventually Sam recalled her injured Flareon and took her place back at the side of her battlefield. I watched nervously as she pulled out another Pokeball. I had a hunch as to who she was going to use…

My hunch proved to be right.

"Che-Che! Use Shadow Ball!"

The Mightyena sprang straight into action, barraging the Claydol with a vicious Shadow Ball that the bulky Pokemon just simply couldn't avoid. It took the attack head on, sending the Pokemon spiralling backwards, taking a great deal of damage. Jade's eyes bulged in shock at the sheer power behind the attack and looked momentarily flustered.

"Good strategy," I heard Elliot murmur from next to me. "Exactly what I would've done. Use Mightyena's Dark type attacks to the advantage…"

Claydol looked like it had taken a fair bit of damage from the Mightyena's attack, barely supporting itself in midair any more. While Jade did try and get his Pokemon to attack again with another Rock Throw, the Pokemon's aim faltered, and the rocks completely missed. Che-Che got in with another Bite attack, but this attack didn't seem as consequential as the Shadow Ball, allowing Claydol to fight back with Hidden Power. But Sam's reactions were impeccable, as she ordered her Che-Che to use Dig to tunnel underground, evading what could have potentially been a very dangerous attack. With the attack evaded, Che-Che sent another Shadow Ball spiralling in the Claydol's direction, which completely knocked out the bulky Pokemon.

There was a murmur of unrest going through the crowd now. I knew for a fact now that every single competitor had been intimidated by Jade Black's cool attitude and seemingly easy aptitude for winning. Seeing him handed a defeat had sent a ripple through me, the crowd and every other competitor there.

"I… I did not expect that," I heard Luca say from nearby.

"Me neither," I murmured.

Even Jasmine and Elliot were shaking their heads, looking as astonished and dumbfounded as I felt…

With the scores tied at one victory apiece, a deathly silence spread across the stands. A slight disapproving sneer was playing on Jade's thin lips as he plucked another Pokeball from his belt, the folds of his cloak billowing in a slight wind that picked up.

Jade's next Pokemon was a Skarmory. The Pokemon looked calm as it swept into the battlefield, the sun reflecting brilliantly across its lean, shining, streamlined body. It stopped mid-flight, turning its beady eyes on its Mightyena opponent.

I noticed Sam now biting her lip, but she ordered Che-Che into battle anyway. However, the Pokemon's attempts at hitting the wickedly fast bird with a selection of Shadow Balls proved fruitless, and the Pokemon was becoming noticeably distressed with every miss. Jade ordered a Sky Attack, the Skarmory moving almost unnaturally fast to deliver the attack, which left the Mightyena bloodied and weakened.

Sam wasn't going to down without a fight, and immediately ordered her Che-Che back on the offence. The dog Pokemon, displaying an almost effortless display of agility despite its injuries bounded straight into the air and sunk its powerful jaws straight into the bird. The Skarmory's steel-like body protected it from the sharp teeth, but the sudden contact knocked it off balance, sending it crashing to the ground.

"Oh my God…" I said in awe. "Is Jade… losing?"

No-one said anything in reply.

The announcer was screaming excitedly into the microphone as Che-Che rounded on the injured Skarmory, who looked to be nursing a wing that looked suspiciously like it was broken, possibly from the fall. On Sam's order, Che-Che lunged for the grounded Skarmory, but it was at this point that Jade pulled out his ace in the hole.

A Protect.

A wondrous barrier of light sprung up, protecting the Skarmory from all angles, which stopped the Mightyena straight in its tracks, dumbfounded. Jade quickly ordered a Steel Wing as the Mightyena tried to recover from its initial fright, and it was over. The Steel Wing was simply too much for the Mightyena to take, and it collapsed.

"I…" I was astonished as I watched a despondent Sam recall her Mightyena. "I…"

"I didn't expect her to put up that good of a fight," Elliot admitted. "She's pretty good… That is one well trained Mightyena. It's a shame it had to end like this,"

"I know," I murmured softly.

The fifth battle was next, marking the halfway point through the first heat, and it was between Luca and Celeste. I wished Luca good luck as he left, although my heart was already thudding in anticipation. Luca was facing Celeste, the girl that had stubbornly held onto second place overall through the preliminaries. She had seemed nice and unthreatening enough when I had met her with Bailey, but I knew more than anyone that appearances could be deceiving…

"Please welcome, yes, please welcome Celeste Archos from Littleroot Town!"

Celeste entered the battleground, her silvery-white hair wafting lazily in the wind. She looked calm as she waited for Luca to emerge.

"And her opponent, Luca Hollingsworth from Mahogany Town!"

Luca, who up until this point had looked nervous, now had a carefree expression on his face as he approached the silver haired girl opposite him. A smile suddenly touched on his face and I could tell he was feeling a little more confident.

Both trainers released their Pokemon at the same time. Celeste's first choice was a Pokemon that she called Adurna, which turned out to be a Masquerain. Luca retaliated by releasing a very cheerful looking Delibird that he called Frosty.

"What unusual Pokemon," I heard Elliot comment from next to me. "Certainly not ones I would think to be used in a battle like this…"

The battle began with Celeste ordered Aduma the Masquerain to use Air Slash. Luca had his Pokemon dodge, which it somehow managed to pull off. The move that he then ordered his Pokemon to do was completely unfamiliar to me. The strange red bird Pokemon pulled out a shimmering, colourful orb from seemingly nowhere, which it then hurled at the Masquerain. Upon impact, the orb exploded.

"The hell!" I cried out in shock as the explosion rippled through the arena. "What was that!"

"Present," Elliot explained to me. "Delibird's signature move. The only move it can learn naturally, as a matter of fact. It either damages or heals the opponent."

"Heals?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah. It's totally random the effect it has," Elliot said with a shrug. "It could work out brilliantly for you, or work out horrendous for you…"

"Isn't that a bit… risky?"

"You'd think so, yeah… Doesn't seem to be stopping Luca."

I murmured something noncommittally. Celeste's Masquerain, completely dazed from the explosion couldn't respond to the attack, and Luca took advantage of this. He ordered his Delibird to jump back and use an attack I recognised as Future Sight. I cast a confused face to Elliot. "I thought you said Delibird could only learn Present?"

"I didn't count TM moves," he said with an offhand smile.

"Oh."

The Future Sight attack now primed, it would only be a matter of time before it struck. I had seen Future Sight before, having spent a long time teaching Indigo to perfect it, and I knew how easily it could change the outcome of a battle. If Celeste wanted any chance of negating the Future Sight, she'd have to take that Delibird out fast…

Celeste ordered an Ominous Wind, the cyclone of dark purple wind engulfing the Delibird, making it squeal in pain and freeze, seemingly from fright. Despite Luca's attempts to coax his Delibird to fight again, the Pokemon just couldn't snap itself out of its frightened stupor. Celeste seized her chance, commanding her Masquerain to use Water Pulse.

However, the water from the attack seemed to barely even damage the Pokemon. In fact, it seemed to snap it back into its senses, and without even a prompt from its trainer, shot an Ice Beam straight at the Bug type! I let out a gasp of surprise as the attack hit with surprising power, sending the Masquerain crashing to the ground, completely frozen solid…

The calm look on Celeste's face instantly melted away to be replaced with one of complete and utter shock. Even the crowd were silenced. No-one had been anticipating _that_. I looked down at Luca who was grinning from ear-to-ear in the face of his Pokemon's victory.

Celeste recalled her unconscious Masquerain, replacing it with a Blaziken, which she named Igneel. At this point, my jaw dropped.

"That's not fair…" I found myself saying in anger. "She's using a Fire type against an Ice type! Luca's Delibird doesn't stand a chance!"

"All's fair in love and war," Elliot quoted philosophically.

"I know, but…" I broke off, looking down at my feet. "It still doesn't seem fair…"

As I had anticipated, Celeste's Blaziken completely obliterated poor Frosty the Delibird with only one attack, an insanely powerful Fire Blast. The Blaziken let out a snort of defiance as the Delibird fell to the ground, completely unconscious.

Luca seemed to take a long time to decide what Pokemon to use next, but he eventually released an Ampharos by the name of Valance into the fray to take on Celeste's Blaziken. I tensed, suddenly feeling excited at the prospect of seeing another Ampharos in battle. Maybe I could even learn something…

The two Pokemon went straight into battle. Celeste's Blaziken was wickedly fast, nimble and agile, whereas Luca's Ampharos was slower and a little clumsier. Even the use of a Discharge, which ordinarily would have paralysed and completely stopped any other Pokemon, proved ineffective at slowing the Blaziken down. The Pokemon began exchanging blows, the Blaziken unleashing a volley of Blaze Kicks and Slashes, while Valance hung back, shooting Signal Beams, Power Gems and Discharges. While they seemed to be equally matched in power, Blaziken was much better at taking hits than Valance, who tired quickly and was rapidly losing health. Not even the residual Future Sight attack was enough to take out the Blaziken when it eventually came around. Eventually, the sight of his Ampharos taking such a vicious beating was too much for Luca to bear, and right in the middle of the battle, he recalled his exhausted, cut up and bloodied Pokemon, and called out that he was forfeiting.

"He gave _up_?" Jasmine cried incredulously.

"Y-yeah… looks like it…" I croaked.

"He made the best choice," Elliot said, straightening up as the two competitors on the battlefield shook hands and departed. "His Ampharos was getting too badly beaten up. He was going to lose sooner or later… Better to save his Pokemon the pain." He paused, before adding "It's a stronger trainer that can admit defeat that clings on till the bitter end,"

I found myself nodding, but inwardly, I couldn't help but lament the unfairness of it all…

It was now time for the battle between Evan and Elliot. This battle proved to be incredibly short, as it was clear Evan was still only an amateur trainer, sending out a relatively inexperienced Eevee, and then a Jigglypuff to take on Elliot's Cacturne. While the Pokemon themselves did not present too much of a challenge, it was Evan's battling style that had the entire crowd, and Elliot, flummoxed…

Evan did not call out orders like a regular trainer would. Instead, he seemed to communicate with his Pokemon solely by the use of subtle hand, eye and body movements, almost like a sort of sign language. Each individual sign, or set of signs, seemed to correspond to a particular action or behaviour or chain of behaviour. At first, no-one knew what was going on, as the Eevee suddenly began attacking with seemingly no instructions from its trainer. For one mad moment, I assumed Evan didn't have control over his Pokemon, but I also quickly noticed that, unlike a trainer that couldn't make his Pokemon listen to him, Evan wasn't protesting or shouting for his Pokemon to listen.

And then Jasmine was talking in my ear. "His hands! Look at his hands!"

It was then I noticed. He had his hand raised, close to his face in a seemingly innocent gesture and was moving his fingers, alternating which ones to raise and for how long, almost like he was playing a flute. His Eevee seemed to respond particularly to the finger movements, while he seemed to favour a slightly more noticeable system of hand movements combined with arm movements for his Jigglypuff.

While Evan lost to Elliot, his Pokemon simply not strong enough to stand up to Elliot's, it couldn't be denied his unique battling style had left a deep impact on all the trainers still there. It really brought home exactly the advantage a trainer could have if their opponent didn't know what was going on…

Following on immediately from Elliot's, the battle between Bailey and Hikaru was next. My heart was in my mouth as Bailey released his Bayleef into the field, and then it sunk horribly to the bottom of my stomach as Hikaru released an Arcanine.

Poor Bailey never had a chance. The Arcanine's Fire type moves were simply too much for the Grass type to withstand, and it was handed a defeat after only a few short minutes of battling. Bailey attempted to bring it back, using his Corsola. I understood his reasoning, but Corsola simply couldn't muster up Water attacks strong enough to even slow down the Arcanine, let alone do any decent damage. In the end, the poor Corsola too was defeated, and Bailey's battle was over.

I felt horribly sad for him, but Bailey, ever cheerful returned a big smile to the crowd, looking completely at ease with his loss. I found myself inexplicably close to tears as he disappeared back into the dugouts and out of sight.

However, I had no time for feeling sad or sorry for Bailey, as I came to the horrifying realisation that my battle was next. The others wished me luck, but I was a bundle of nerves as I descended the stairs and out onto the battlefield. I almost balked at the sight of the crowd and the gigantic open space of the battlefield, but I pushed myself forward. My opponent, the horribly shy Robyn Collier looked nervously across from me on the battlefield, while the crowd cheered in excitement. My cheeks burned with some strange form of embarrassment, suddenly feeling wholly self-conscious to be battling in front of so many people.

Robyn was the first to pull out a Pokemon. "Ty, let's go!"

"No way…" I murmured in shock as her Pokemon, a giant Typhlosion, roared onto the battlefield.

Momentarily flummoxed, I had no idea which Pokemon to use against Robyn and her Typhlosion. I almost automatically wanted to use Aurora, but I forced myself to move past her Pokeball. I didn't want to be the kind of trainer who automatically relied on type advantages to win… I'd like to think I was a better trainer than that…

My decision proved relatively simple after I eliminated Aurora. I certainly couldn't underestimate Robyn and that Typhlosion of hers, so I decided to go with my best bet to win _other _than Aurora.

"Meloi! Let's do this!"

"Ampha! Ampharos!"

For a long time, nothing happened. Neither of us moved. I found myself instinctively clamming up, incapable of making the first move. Instead, I watched Robyn intently, waiting for the slightest hint that she was going to act. I had the wild idea that I could possibly interpret what she was going to do before she actually managed to shout out the order, which would give me the upper hand, but as usual, I was proved wrong. Without a single warning or hint whatsoever, suddenly, she jabbed her finger in Meloi's direction, her voice suddenly taking on a harsh assertiveness, almost sounding like a bellow in the midst of the quiet…

"Ty! Lava Plume, now!"

"Meloi, fight back with a Thunderpunch!" I ordered hastily.

I couldn't believe what was going on as the two Pokemon launched straight into battle. Robyn, and her Typhlosion, was amazing! For a long time it seemed that no matter what I did, Robyn automatically came up with a way to block it, evade it, or parry it. I found myself almost gawking in amazement. This shy, sweet girl was _this _good at battling?

The two Pokemon exchanged blow after blow, knocking each other all over the battlefield, but barely scoring any damage against each other. I bit my lip furiously. Sure Meloi wasn't getting hurt, proving just as adept as Robyn's Typhlosion at blocking and taking damage, but she wasn't _causing _damage either. She just could not break that Typhlosion's defences!

Taking another tactic, I ordered a Cotton Spore, but this proved useless as the Typhlosion merely burnt the thin cottony wisps to cinders with a powerful Flamethrower, that narrowly missed singing Meloi in the process. My second attempt at this strategy, snagging the Typhlosion with a nifty Thunder Wave proved more successful. With the Typhlosion paralysed, it could do nothing to guard itself from an onslaught of Meloi's most powerful electric type moves, resulting in it passing out, completely frazzled some time later.

My heart was in my mouth as Robyn recalled her Typhlosion. While I knew I was doing well to take out her Typhlosion, Meloi was exhausted and running low on energy and stamina. I had a nasty suspicion that whatever Robyn pulled out of the bag next was going to be trouble.

Boy, did I prove to be right…

"I choose Lunatone!"

My jaw dropped when I saw the serene looking Pokemon float into the battlefield. My jaw dropped _further _when the Pokemon dispatched Meloi in a matter of seconds, using a well timed Protect to shield itself from her incoming Thunder Punch, and then using Confusion, followed immediately up by Hypnosis to send my already exhausted Pokemon into a deep slumber.

I relented and used Aurora, hoping to use her Water and Ice type moves to my advantage. But the Lunatone was just as skilled in the fields of evasion as Robyn's Typhlosion had been. Robyn seemed to predict what I was going to do even before I knew myself, and I was beginning to panic. While her Lunatone didn't seem to have much power behind its attacks, I was horrifically aware of the Hypnosis strategy she had used on Meloi to win the first part of the battle.

I finally clawed back the upper hand by having Aurora barrage the Lunatone with an onslaught of Ice Balls that the Pokemon simply couldn't evade no matter how much it tried. This was promptly followed with a Water Gun to shoot the Pokemon down to the ground, and finished with a Body Slam which left the Pokemon paralysed and completely incapable of battling.

Which meant that I had won….

After pausing to give Aurora a hug and some praise for her performance, I approached Robyn. The crowd was cheering and applauding, and although I can't deny I felt proud and elated to have won, I still felt a little sorry for Robyn. She had battled exceptionally well, and it had been a miracle I had even won against her at all…

But as I shook her hand and thanked her for the amazing battle, a tiny wicked sense of excitement burst somewhere at the back of my brain. I had handled myself well in that battle. A grin spread across my face. I was getting it. I was getting better again!

But whatever pride and elation I felt at my victory, and to an extent the verification that I was once again getting back into my old battling stride, was completely lost when I remembered what battle was next…

Nikki and Jasmine's.

I couldn't tell which girl looked more like she didn't want to be there as they stepped out onto the battlefield. I also had no idea how either girl was going to conduct herself in the battle. Would they go all out against each other and give a fair fight, or would one of them chicken out and go easy on the other…? I didn't know. And it killed me that I didn't know.

As the battle started, Nikki opened by releasing Dixie, her prized Ninetails. While part of me expected, and wholly dreaded, Jasmine to use Mizu her Azumarill, she didn't, choosing instead to send out Skittle, her Delcatty. For a long time, neither Pokemon nor trainer reacted, a deathly hushed silence falling all over the crowd. My heart was beating so hard in my chest I was scared it was going to beat right out…

And then, Nikki struck, ordering Dixie into battle with a vicious Fire Spin, a favourite, almost fail-safe move from her contest work. Skittle, surprised by the power behind the attack could only squeal and duck for cover. Jasmine however wasn't one to be deterred and ordered Skittle straight into battle in retaliation, ordering a DoubleSlap.

The two Pokemon, each the respective pride and joy of their trainers were locked in battle for some time, neither seeming to find the opportunity to inflict much damage. While Dixie's attacks proved quick and speedy, with a fair punch behind them, Jasmine was adept at getting Skittle to dodge them and retaliate with moves such as Attract and Charm to lower Dixie's attack and defence. However, the first round finally came to an end after Nikki, using a tried-and-tested contest strategy of Will-O-Wisp, followed up by a Flamethrower, completely obliterated the feeble defences of Jasmine's Delcatty.

I had to admit, when Jasmine released Sulphur, her Quilava, it was the last Pokemon I expected her to use. She was fighting fire with fire; a dangerous game in my opinion. She knew that when it came to Fire Pokemon, Nikki was our resident expert. Nikki knew how to fight with fire… and I'm pretty sure she knew how to fight fire _with_ fire. I wasn't sure if Jasmine did. So what was she _doing_? Why was she doing this?

But then it hit me. Jasmine wasn't using her Fire Pokemon to fight fire with fire, like I thought… She was using her Quilava to negate the effects of the powerful fire moves that Nikki could utilize. Nikki relied heavily on the impressive fires and flames of her beloved Pokemon in both contests and battling, and hadn't trained them as much in other fields. I understood. Without her fire power, Nikki was rendered completely useless…

My theory proved to be right. With each Pokemon putting up a good resistance to the other's fire attacks, they had no choice but to rely on other methods. Jasmine had an impressive arsenal of other attacks at her disposal, using Quick Attack, Swift and Tackle to score damage, whilst barraging Dixie with SmokeScreens to lower the Ninetales' accuracy, making it difficult to score hits. Nikki was in obvious distress, the only non-Fire type moves Dixie knew proving to be Quick Attack, which barely seemed to hurt the solid Quilava, and Confuse Ray, which due to the thick smoke billowing over the battlefield proved to be essentially useless. Eventually, Dixie fell, simply from the volley of attacks and from the fact the Ninetales couldn't get an attack in edgeways.

Nikki sent out her Charmeleon, Blaze, next to try and deal with Jasmine's Sulphur. Sadly though, while Nikki put up a valiant effort, using Blaze to utilize the powerful Dragon Rage against Sulphur, the Quilava was simply too fast for the attacks to hit. Blaze's moves, which were slow and deliberate, obviously from practicing to show off in contents, simply couldn't reach the speedy Sulphur. The Quick Attacks Sulphur pulled off to evade were simply too fast for the Charmeleon to hit, and Blaze was eventually felled by a series of powerful Swift attacks.

Nikki seemed to take her defeat well, smiling and congratulating Jasmine, but the same could not be said for Jasmine. She looked uncomfortable, almost regretful as she shook Nikki's hand in recognition of her victory. I almost thought I caught her mumbling something that looked like "sorry" as they turned away and retired to their respective dugouts. I felt horrible… I had anticipated whoever lost to feel bad, not for the person who _won _to feel bad.

The final battle of the round was held between Alicia Nakamura and Chaison Coffman. Both trainers looked noticeably nervous as they faced off towards each other, much like the majority of trainers here, I realised, but they released Pokemon and started off the battle happily enough. Alicia released an Altaria, while Chaison released a Crobat.

"An aerial battle," Elliot commented thoughtfully from beside me. "Now _this _will be interesting…"

And the battle did indeed prove to be interesting. Alicia seemed to favour a very offensive front, utilizing a combination of Fly, Ominous Wind and one very powerful Draco Meteor, that almost crushed the tiny Crobat as it flitted around the stage. As Alicia went straight in for the offensive moves, barraging the Crobat with such a powerful arsenal of attacks, I automatically assumed the worst. However, Chaison's Crobat was wickedly fast, nipping in and out of the incoming attacks like they were nothing, and executing a combination of X-Scissor and Cross Poison to throw the giant Dragon type off.

The battle continued in this steed for quite some time, the Pokemon exchanging moves as they dared to get closer to each other. While Crobat's attacks were incredibly fast, and the Pokemon itself was also wickedly quick, its attacks couldn't penetrate the seemingly solid defences of the Altaria. That is, until Chaison's Crobat pulled off a Poison Fang, which resulted in the Altaria becoming badly poisoned. To its credit, the Pokemon struggled on valiantly while the effects of the poison sapped its strength, resulting in it eventually fainting.

Alicia didn't seem too fazed in the light of her Altaria being defeated. The same could not be said for me, and most likely a fair number of people in the stands, however. I couldn't believe that the tiny little bat Pokemon had taken out something as big and impressive as that Altaria…

Alicia's next Pokemon was a Cloyster, which wiped out Chaison's Crobat with an extremely powerful Icicle Crash. Chaison, after some careful and prolonged deliberation, released a Glaceon as an opponent.

"Two Ice types…" Elliot commented. "Again, an interesting choice…"

Chaison led off the battle by ordering Glaceon to use Hail, which proved to be an extremely good strategy, somehow boosting the Glaceon's speed, and allowing it to execute attacks much faster. Alicia's Cloyster however, much like its team-mate Altaria, had a wicked defence, coupled with its immunity to the majority of the ice type moves the Glaceon used; making most of what the Glaceon threw at it ineffective. While Chaison came up with strategy after strategy, aiming for weak spots, utilizing his Pokemon's speed and nimbleness and all his other advantages, the Cloyster eventually proved to just be too strong and wiped out the Glaceon with a set of Spike Cannons.

With Alicia winning that battle, the first round came to its conclusion. No sooner had Alicia and Chaison left the stage, a bunch of pictures flashed up on the screen. The victors and the people they would be facing in the second round.

I scanned the information, desperately trying to pick out my name from the screen. The screen read:

**Heat Two **

**Crow Arabesque v Natsuki Ikebana**

**Scott Harper v Jade Black**

**Celeste Archos v Elliot Wood**

**Hikaru Brown v Sienna Volbeda**

**Jasmine Moore v Alicia Nakamura**

As I stared at the images of all the winning trainers, I felt my heart begin to beat faster and faster and my breath start to come in short, sharp gasps. The announcer was saying something, giving instructions on what was going to happen next, but I was barely listening. For that moment, all I knew was the rising feeling of anticipation and dread, and I kept looking straight ahead, whatever confidence I once held now slipping away as I realised that things were getting serious now.

And I came to a realization.

Despite my confidence now slipping further and further away, I knew now in my heart that I certainly didn't want to lose. I wanted to keep going in this tournament. I had a little bit of my spark back, fuelled on from my victory against Robyn…

And I wanted to keep going. I wanted to keep winning.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Henceforth, the battles will be noticeably shorter so I can move past this arc relatively soon.**

**Thanks to my reviewers: Aeroga, Chaison, TCoBlackRoses, Shadow of Eckhart, WarriorSwift, Sniper Mudkip, Shadow Serenity 57, anon, roxiepluto, TwewyReaperGirl, WildCroconaw and XxbunnyD**


	28. A Hard Pill to Swallow

It felt like literally no time at all before the next round of the battle was announced. With what felt like well-practised military precision and planning, we were ushered into a back room, had our Pokemon healed up quickly and efficiently, before being separated into two groups once again. After being lead back up to another balcony, but now with Natsuki, Jade, Elliot and Alicia for company, I found myself feeling rather out of my depth… The people here were some of the best in the whole competition. And that scared me more than I cared to admit. The _people _here scared me more than I cared to admit. Even as I thought this, Natsuki's probing eyes sought me out from under the curtain of her hair and she fixed them on me. I didn't know what she found so fascinating about me, and I wasn't sure I _wanted _to know either…

Trying to ignore Natsuki's incessant (and somewhat creepy) staring, I glanced around, looking at the other two challengers. Jade was standing far off to the side, the folds of his cape gently blowing in the wind. Alicia was standing near to him, eyeing him pointedly, as if willing him to turn around and talk to her. Of course, he remained stubbornly silent. For some reason, despite my nerves, this at least managed to elicit a smile from me. I slipped my hand into Elliot's, who squeezed it comfortingly. He drew me close, and enveloped in his warm embrace, I suddenly felt a lot more secure…

With a sudden screech of the microphone that made me almost jump out of my skin and made Elliot swear violently, the first battle was officially announced. In this battle, Natsuki was to face Crow. Upon being summoned to the battlefield, Natsuki swept past us with a sort of cool confidence. As she glided past us, however, a bizarre chill crept up my spine and I shuddered inexplicably. When Elliot quizzed me on what had happened, I couldn't even answer him.

Pushing that to the back of my mind, I tried to focus on the battle. Both Natsuki and Crow were eyeing each other pointedly from either ends of the battlefield. I almost expected Crow to flinch away under Natsuki's hardened gaze, but he remained as cool as ever, matching her stare effortlessly.

"Come on Crow," I willed, hanging dangerously far over the railings in an attempt to get a better view. "You can beat her! Come on!"

The battle quickly got underway. Natsuki's first Pokemon was a Pokemon I honestly didn't expect her to have. It was a Sableye, whom Natsuki had given the nickname of Onyx. I saw Crow seem to carefully deliberate over which Pokemon to use, before sending his Breloom, Deneb, as an opponent. The battle started off slow, each trainer seeming a little reluctant at first to go for heavy, consequential moves, but it soon picked up, the battle reaching an incredible intensity after a few short minutes. Natsuki's Sableye relied heavily on powerful moves like Zen Headbutt, Power Gem and Shadow Ball which initially caused Crow's Breloom some problems. However, taking advantage of its superior speed, Deneb the Breloom used a barrage of Seed Bombs to fight back. After the explosion of Seed Bombs, I honestly expected the whole thing to be over, but I was proved wrong. The Sableye, after sustaining damage to the red gem upon its chest suddenly became enraged! The Pokemon's newfound strength completely overwhelmed Crow's Breloom and knocked it out with a particularly nasty Zen Headbutt.

Crow looked a strange mix of horrified and disappointed as he saw his Pokemon fall in front of him, but quickly marred his face with resolve once more. His second Pokemon was a Honchkrow, and despite everything, I smiled, finding it such a brilliantly fitting Pokemon for him to use.

Crow's Honchkrow was a good choice as it easily swept Natsuki's Sableye with a relentless storm of Brave Bird attacks, before ending the round with a particularly scary and intimidating move called Heat Wave, which send a viciously hot wave of heat scorching across the battlefield, leaving the dual Ghost and Dark type completely defeated.

Natsuki looked a little disappointed at the defeat of her Sableye, but recalled it back to its Pokeball, before carefully considering her next choice. This next choice then turned out to be a Gastly. At this point, my heart leapt in anticipation. With a Pokemon like Honchkrow, I wholly expected the whole thing to go completely in Crow's favour and for him to win with little difficulty. But to my abject horror and amazement, things took a turn for the worst for poor Crow. Natsuki's Gastly immediately cut in with a wickedly fast Hypnosis, putting the Dark type completely to sleep.

It was over, just like that… Crow had lost…

"No!" I cried despite myself, almost falling over the balcony railings. "Crow… Crow lost…?"

I could barely even watch as Crow and Natsuki walked away to their respective dugouts. I felt a sadness tug at my heart as I watched Crow's retreating back. I hated to see him lose. He didn't deserve to lose like that…

We didn't have too long to reflect on it however, as the next battle was immediately announced, this one taking place between Scott and Jade. I could tell everyone was waiting on baited breath for this particular battle. I couldn't blame them. Scott and Jade had both built themselves quite the formidable reputations, and a clash between them was anticipated to be exhilarating. However, the built up of anticipation proved to be for nothing, as the battle turned out to be almost… disappointing. The battle was over far quicker than I, or anyone else expected it to be.

Scott started things off, sending his Quagsire into battle against Jade's Skarmory. It seemed like a pretty fair match-up initially, but it quickly became evident who was the better battler. Although Jade put up a valiant fight, using his Skarmory's speed, nimbleness and defensive powers to his advantage, it simply couldn't stand up to the relentless barrage of attacks Scott ordered. The crowd was totally in awe as Scott's Quagsire completely swept the battlefield with a Surf, knocking the Skarmory straight out of the air. As it struggled in the waterlogged arena to get itself back into flight, it became a nothing more than a sitting Ducklett for powerful Muddy Water, followed up immediately by a Slam, which knocked the Skarmory completely out cold.

Jade looked angry as he recalled his Skarmory and it was evident just how serious he was taking this battle as he released his next Pokemon. The audience gasped in fright as the almighty figure of a Gyarados escaped Jade's Pokeball. At this point, I noticed Scott's face rapidly change expression. It didn't take a genius to know why. Anyone who knew Scott knew he seemed to favour Rock and Ground types, and judging from the team I had seen him use ever since I met him and particularly over the course of the tournament, his current team seemed to be made up exclusively of those two types. A Gyarados was likely to be highly problematic for him.

But in a display of battling so amazing that I almost didn't believe what I was seeing, Scott pushed past the obvious difficulties and secured a win! He didn't even need to switch Pokemon! Instead, he used Quagsire's bulky body to his advantage, as well as a powerful arsenal of moves I could only assume he had taught his Pokemon through TM. The use of an Ice Beam completely obliterated the giant serpentine Pokemon and Scott secured a very comfortable win within only ten minutes of battling… I couldn't believe it, and I'm sure I spent a good few minutes just staring at the battlefield in shock while an angered Jade Black stormed off the arena, his cape billowing madly behind him.

The battle between Elliot and Celeste was next, and this one was long and drawn out. My nerves were stretched to breaking point as the battle was conducted, both trainers incredibly intimidating forces. Celeste opened with a Flygon named Midori, and I saw a frown develop on Elliot's face at the reveal. I anticipated him to shun his favoured Grass types and take on the dual Ground and Dragon type with one of his Dark types, but instead, he released Vino the Venusaur. The two powerhouses butted heads for a long time, scoring plenty damage, but not enough to be consequential. The battle dragged out for what felt like hours until eventually it was ended when Vino used Sweet Scent to slow down the Flygon and send it into a trance, before taking advantage of the Pokemon's inability to move to shoot it down with an incredibly powerful Solarbeam.

Surprisingly, Celeste chose _not _to send out her powerful Blaziken, but instead an Aggron, named Tetsu. Elliot tensed in the face of this new intimidating opponent, but his faith in Vino the Venusaur was obviously absolute and unyielding, and he ordered his beloved Pokemon into battle without a second glance. Celeste's Aggron however was a force to be reckoned with, using Protect to keep itself out of harm's way, and then striking back with an especially powerful Headbutt and a Thunderbolt that came from seemingly nowhere! Elliot withdrew Vino, realising that his Pokemon was tiring and in no position to fight. His next choice was Tropius, which sent a rippling gasp through the stadium. Tropius was part Flying type, and against the Aggron, who was part Rock type, the advantage seemed to be leaning much more towards Celeste and her Aggron. But Elliot wasn't a stupid man, and he utilised Tropius to every strength he had. He had Tropius use Growth to bulk itself up in preparation for attacking, especially useful in penetrating the Aggron's mighty defences. In the same manner as before, he spawned Sweet Scent to slow down the already sluggish Aggron, before laying into the monstrous looking Pokemon with as many Grass type moves as he could. In the end, it was a resounding victory for Elliot.

I didn't get the chance to find Elliot and congratulate him as my battle was next. My opponent was Hikaru Brown, someone I felt decidedly nervous about battling, just because of what a nice, sweet girl she had been to me during the preliminaries. I was also however painfully aware of how easily she had beaten Bailey in the previous round, with just that one Pokemon. That incredibly powerful Arcanine. I swallowed. This certainly wasn't going to be an easy battle.

I was surprised at Hikaru's first Pokemon, a Swinub with the highly unthreatening nickname of Fluffy. I deliberated carefully over my choice of Pokemon, before sending in Kiba, thinking to use his Fire type moves against the Ice type, but I had totally forgotten that Swinub could learn Ground type moves like Mud-Slap and Earthquake. It barricaded Kiba with a Mud Bomb initially before sending in an Earthquake that shook my poor Growlithe completely off its feet. But Kiba was a fighter and bounced back, simply scorching the pig Pokemon with an Ember, followed up by a Flame Wheel.

I had more trouble with Hikaru's next Pokemon. An Umbreon named Shadow. I knew just how dangerous these things could be, especially considering I knew how strong Elliot's beloved Umbreon Jet was. Nonetheless, I ordered Kiba into battle, trying to take advantage of the wicked Fire types he used. My efforts frustratingly proved useless as Hikaru's Umbreon used Faint Attack to sneak up on Kiba and nail him with a series of what seemed to be increasingly powerful Shadow Balls. I mentally kicked myself when poor Kiba fell victim to the Umbreon. I was so annoyed with myself. I knew that strategy. I knew the Faint Attack to get behind the opponent to attack it in a vulnerable position strategy. I knew it, because I'd seen Elliot use it so many times… I knew it, yet I still lost.

I sent in Monty after Kiba's defeat to take on the Umbreon. I saw the reactions of the crowd change as soon as the relatively uncommon Pokemon appeared in the arena. I knew what they were thinking. Using a Persian against an Umbreon was practically asking for trouble (and a resounding defeat) but I knew better. I had faith in my Monty.

My faith in Monty was proved right. Monty was fast, using his strong, lithe limbs to easily dodge out of the way every time Hikaru's Umbreon attempted to use Faint Attack to get behind him. As soon as the Pokemon even came within three feet of him, Monty slashed out with his powerful claws, raking the Umbreon with a vicious set of Fury Swipes, drawing blood and weakening it almost straight away. Following on from this, I had Monty use Screech to weaken the Umbreon's heightened defences, then finished it with a Power Gem.

I barely had time to register my win before I was immediately ushered off the battleground. Somehow I had the feeling that the people organising these battles had wholly underestimated how long it would take and were running short on time, thus making the intervals between battles practically non-existant. So, after winning my battle I headed straight up to the overhanging balcony with the intention of watching Jasmine in her battle against Alicia. However, no sooner had I stepped foot back on the balcony, I felt my mobile, buried in the depths of my pocket begin to vibrate erratically. Puzzled, I fished it out and consulted it. I almost dropped the phone when I saw the caller ID.

"Dad?" I hissed in disbelief into the phone, turning on my heel and disappearing out into the rest room as the cheers and applause began to sound behind me.

"Sienna," Dad's voice sounded distant, and far away at the other end of the line. "I hope I haven't caught you in the middle of something important,"

"Emm…" I murmured slowly. I thought about my answer, considering it carefully before replying. "Not really. Just a tournament… thing…"

"A tournament?" he repeated, sounding conversational enough, but I could still tell his interest was feigned. His voice held a peculiar, heavy tone to it that I didn't like one little bit.

"Yeah. A tournament," I said, before nervously clearing my throat and continuing. "So, anyway… what's up?"

"I have to ask you something important," he said, and my heart immediately sunk. This could never be good news.

"What…?" I asked, after a moment's hesitation.

There was a slight pause at the end of the line, before he spoke again. "Does the name Helene Fontaine mean anything to you?"

"Helene Fontaine…?" I repeated the exotic sounding name out loud thoughtfully, while searching my memory banks thoroughly for anything that sounded even remotely similar. Eventually, I had to give up. The name was completely alien to me."No, I don't know anyone by that name. Why?"

There was a silence. "It's… it's not important."

I blinked in confusion. "Well, yeah, it _is _important. You just don't phone someone up, ask them if they've heard a name before and then claim it's not important."

There was silence.

"Dad! Tell me!"

"Well…" I heard him inhale and exhale deeply. "Don't say I didn't warn you. I didn't want to have to tell you this, but if you insist." He paused again, before eventually speaking. "Back in the day when Nathan—"

"_Nathan_!" the name immediately sent a shiver of terror down my spine, and my grip around the phone immediately tightened.

"…was still a member of Team Plasma, he worked very closely with this woman. Nathan spoke about her a lot in Team Quantum. Spoke very highly of her in fact… Apparently she had an IQ that was close to genius level, a brilliant, logistical mind and _also_ was one of the strongest trainers Nathan ever knew…"

There was a lump forming in my throat that was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. I didn't like where this was going…

"After Team Plasma disbanded, she was taken into police custody after the police became concerned it wasn't safe to allow her to roam the streets. Apparently she was considered a security risk and a danger to the general public, and rightly so. She's a very dangerous woman. However, recently there was some controversy surrounding her case for being locked up, and last week she was released. Released on the condition that she report to the police weekly so they can keep a close watch on her. That's not an unusual thing; one of the conditions of _my _release was regular checks like that."

"I don't get it though…" I said hoarsely. "What are you trying to say?"

There was a sigh at the other end of the line, before a prolonged silence. "Helene didn't make her check today. No-one has heard from her."

"What…?" I croaked.

"Now, I may be jumping to conclusions here," Dad's voice was suddenly hasty, his words crashing into each other, as if he couldn't get them out quick enough. "There's no reason to assume the worst. But…"

"But…?"

"Helene was never a part of Team Quantum…" Dad said slowly. "In fact, the only reason Nathan sought _me _out, aside from my strength in Pokemon battling, was that Nathan could not recruit Helene. Sienna, I'm not a smart man, and we both know my strength never lay in the brains, but the brawn. Nathan claims the whole reason Team Quantum's operation failed was the sheer number of unskilled grunts without a brain in their heads. And I never was the brightest bulb in the box myself…"

Despite myself, I had to stifle a giggle at this.

"Helene's a very smart woman," Dad's tone was serious again. "A scientist by trade, and I lost count of how many PHDs and degrees and whatnot Nathan said she had. Nathan always said that if we had Helene, and didn't have to go around kidnapping scientists to do our bidding, we would never have run into _half _as many problems as we did. I'm sure Nathan believes that if we had Helene… we would have succeeded…"

I was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe, and my palms were beginning to dampen with sweat, making it harder to clutch onto my phone. "Dad… what are you trying to say…?"

"Helene is a very dangerous woman, Sienna. A brilliant mind, a powerful trainer… just generally a force never to be trifled with… It is entirely possible she's aware of what went on two years ago… In fact, I'm _certain _she's possible of what went on two years ago."

"I still don't understand…" I murmured, feeling hopelessly lost as to what was going on.

"Sienna… if Helene is aware of what went on, it is entirely possible she could try to exact some form of…" he broke off at this point. He didn't have to say it, though. The word was implied and hung in the air like a dead weight, oppressive and horribly evident.

"Revenge."

The silence on the end of the phone confirmed my worries, and I let out a shaky breath, not sure what else to do.

But there was one question still bothering me, niggling away at the back of my mind. I cleared my throat. "But why…?" I asked slowly. "Why would Helene do that? Why would she risk everything to go after someone she's never even met, even if it was for someone that she knew? Why would she risk her own… freedom or whatever… for Nathan?"

There was an uncomfortable silence at the other end of the phone. "Nathan and Helene were… uh… shall we say… _involved_…"

I stood there stupefied for what felt like a good full few minutes before stupidly blurting out "Romantically?"

I could practically _hear _the uncomfortable grimace in my father's voice even though I couldn't see his face. "I wouldn't say _that _exactly… I'm not sure Nathan had the level of commitment required for an, uhh, intimate relationship like that…" my father seemed to be choosing his words carefully at this point.

"Ohh," I said with a grimace as the proverbial penny dropped. "So just sexu—"

"Sienna!" my father's voice sounded surprisingly shrill and embarrassed as the word threatened to leave my lips.

"What?" I replied indignantly. "If that's the truth of it, better to just say it!"

"Well, yes… but don't _you _say that word, okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dad, I'm seventeen, not seven…" I said blankly.

He grunted in response, and I could tell I was getting no more out of him on this situation. I let out a short sigh, while suppressing a rather violent and embarrassed shudder at the idea of Nathan _ever _being in that sort of relationship. It made me wonder, particularly about this Helene woman… What kind of woman was she exactly…? Dad had said she was both dangerous and intelligent, a combination that was deadly in anyone… (although it did once again remind me a little too much of the stereotypical villainous characters you found in comic books) There was something about this woman that set off alarm bells in the back of my mind. A woman who could withstand the unpredictable and dangerous facets of Nathan's personality, even engage in an active, personal, intimate relationship with him… She must be a dominant, frightening force in her own right… To pardon any cliché, it seemed like she was a strong independent woman who would take no nonsense from anyone. A strange, apprehensive sort of fear gripped me then, and a cold sweat stood out on my body. I didn't like this. I didn't like this at all…

"Sienna!"

I suddenly became horribly conscious that Dad had been calling my name for the past few seconds and I came down to earth again with a rather self-conscious crash.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "Just thinking,"

"Sienna," Dad's voice suddenly took on an oh-so-familiar hardened edge. "I don't want you to be thinking too heavily about this. There's a good possibility this could be nothing, or could all blow over by the morning. I just thought it would be wise to warn you."

"Just in case, right…?"

"Yes. Just in case. You can never be too careful."

I let out another shaky sigh, before suddenly the door to my left swung open, revealing a rather flustered looking Elliot.

"Sienna?"

"Elliot!" I cried in surprise, the hand holding the phone immediately dropping to my side.

"Whatever you're doing, whoever you're speaking to, hang up the phone now! Your heat three battle is up! You were drawn first!"

"Eh!" I gasped, almost dropping my phone in shock.

"Yeah!" Elliot was breathless, his words crashing into each other clumsily, sounding like a garbled mess. He was speaking so fast that I could barely comprehend what he was saying. "They brought back Grey first! I never thought he'd come back, but the judges apparently really liked the potential he showed in his first heat. And then they wanted to bring back Crow, so he came back too! And then they decided the last person they should have back was Celeste, who I took out!"

"Wait… they didn't bring back Jade?" I said in shock, before another overwhelming thought struck me. "No, wait! Forget that! Who the hell am I _battling, _more to the point?"

"Grey!"

"Grey!" I shrieked shrilly. "Are you kidding me?"

"No! Now hang up the phone! If you don't get down there, they'll forfeit your battle and Grey will continue to the next round automatically."

I swore. "Dad, I'm gonna have to call you back!" I practically yelled into the phone before slamming it shut and racing towards the battleground.

Heart thudding, I crossed to my place on the battlefield alongside a backdrop of a roaring crowd. The announcer was shouting something into the microphone but I barely even registered it. My head was swimming, hazy and cluttered with too many thoughts that anything outside my own consciousness was lost to me. My eyes glanced upwards to one of the overhead screens and I saw the battle setup for heat 3.

**Heat Three**

**Grey Thomas v Sienna Volbeda**

**Alicia Nakamura v Scott Harper**

**Crow Arabesque v Elliot Wood**

**Natsuki Ikebana v Celeste Archos**

My first overwhelming thought was a pang of sadness as I realised whose name was missing. I didn't see Jasmine's name up there… She must have lost in her battle against Alicia… I suddenly felt so sad that Jazz hadn't made it. She was such a good trainer… And after having to go through the hell of fighting Nikki and beating her, she deserved to go much further in the tournament. However, I couldn't think on it much more as all of a sudden, they were announcing the beginning of the battle and what seemed like only seconds later Grey was releasing his first Pokemon.

"Soul! Let's go!"

"Oh no…" I groaned at the sight of Grey's first Pokemon.

A Charizard.

"_Okay, Sienna… now, just relax…_" I tried to tell myself while taking some deep, cleansing breaths. I could already feel myself starting to panic, and my already heavy and hazy mind begin to swim. "_You can do this. You can do this. Just relax, take your time and keep a level head…_"

"Aurora! Take out that Charizard!"

Yes, I'll be the first to admit it wasn't the most noble of things to do, playing the type advantage card and all. I even felt a slight twinge of guilt having to rely on my Water Pokemon to take on Soul's Charizard. Cowardice, I know, but so far as I could see it, I didn't have any other way to win… I knew how tough Charizard were as opponents. And I knew exactly how tough Grey would be as a trainer…

Grey was watching me intensely. He looked slightly uncomfortable almost, and I couldn't figure out exactly why. Soul, his Charizard was standing up to its full impressive height, wings firmly spread, and smoke puffing angrily from its nostrils. I swallowed, moistening my already dry and chapped lips. Aurora was making some sort of mournful noise as she shifted from flipper to flipper, staring her impressive foe in the face.

My attention was wavering and for some reason, I was finding it extremely difficult to focus on what was going on in front of me. Even the thought that there was a giant Charizard intent on tearing my Aurora limb from limb right there in front of me wasn't enough to keep me focused. All I could think about was that phone call. For some reason, all I cared about was what my dad had said… And that name. Helene…

"Charizard! Iron Tail!"

Even despite my heavy, hazy mind, I couldn't fail to hear Grey's call of the order to attack. Soul lifted off into the air, soaring incredibly high in what felt like only a split second. I swore. Repeatedly.

"Aurora! Try and shoot it down!"

Aurora tried her best, cutting off Soul's flight path just enough to make the giant dragon back off, roaring in protest as it couldn't get near Aurora without risk of being sprayed with a barrage of Water Guns. I dared to glance at Grey, looking for a reaction. He seemed totally calm, giving Soul the Charizard the order to back off.

I felt my lips become dry again as I looked that massive Charizard up and down once again, and my mind fell back to the first battle Grey had participated in. The battle against Scott. I shuddered with a sort of inexplicable fear as I remembered the Snorlax and Swampert he had used against Scott's Rhydon and Pidgeot. And now he was using a Charizard… This certainly wasn't a trainer to be taken likely. The judges evidently knew what they were doing when they chose to bring _this _guy back; that was for sure. Nerves encompassed me again. I knew I had the type advantage with Aurora. But with Pokemon as strong as that Snorlax and Swampert in his arsenal, even if I _beat _this Charizard, he could easily bring out a Pokemon just as strong or even stronger and end up totally devastating me…

"Aurora! Come on! Water Pulse!" I cried.

But as the battle waged on, I found myself becoming less and less interested and engaged as to what was taking place in front of me. I barely even registered what Grey was ordering or the movements the Charizard was making or even what Aurora was doing. All my mind was focused on was what my father had told me…

"_Helene Fontaine… who is she? Who is she _really_? Is there any truth to what Dad said? Could this woman really be out there? And is there any way she could try and find me? Surely not… surely she wouldn't risk her life for someone like _Nathan?_ Surely she wouldn't go to all the trouble of finding a girl she's never met before just to help someone like _Nathan?"

A sudden pained wail cut through me like a knife and I jerked my head up just in time to see Soul the Charizard swoop in and deliver an incredibly powerful Iron Tail to a helpless Aurora. The bludgeoning force from the tail was enough to lift my poor Aurora straight from the ground and send her flying back. After a brief flight she crashed down on the ground hard. She didn't move.

"Aurora!" I cried in horror.

"Soul! Use Dragon Dance!"

Panic gripped me. I knew what a move like Dragon Dance could do. It would make that Charizard, already an impressive force, almost ten times more deadly with a hefty increase in its attack power and speed. "Come on Aurora!" I begged, willing her to get up before Soul could execute the move. "Come on, girl! Get up! Please! Come on!"

But it was too late. Before I knew what was happening, Grey's Charizard suddenly performed a strange sort of swaying dance, moving erratically, yet elegantly at the same time. With a vicious snort and a puff of smoke, the Charizard seemed suddenly so much bigger and more intimidating. My mouth went dry and a lump formed in my throat. That Charizard meant business now.

"Soul! Finish it with an Air Slash!"

"No!"

It was over. There was nothing I could have done. I couldn't even watch as Soul delivered the final blow to my poor Aurora. Her squeals of pain, ear-piercing and gut-wrenching echoed around the entire battleground. A horrified gasp sounded from the crowd.

"Oh God, Aurora…" I whispered, my voice barely audible. I couldn't even look at her as I lifted her Pokeball and recalled her. "I'm so sorry… God… what am I even doing…?"

I came down to earth with a horrifying crash, realisation finally starting to permeate through my mind. "_Get a grip_." I chastised myself. "_Put what Dad said out of your mind! Focus on what you're doing! Aurora got hurt because of you! Get it together!_"

But I couldn't get it together. I just couldn't. I sent Meloi out into the battlefield next, hoping to use her electric type moves to my advantage, but it still proved useless. I couldn't engage myself into the battle properly. I couldn't think! I couldn't plan ahead, come up with any strategies… And this wasn't like what had happened with Bugsy either. I wasn't having a mental block, I wasn't _incapable _of coming up with a strategy… It's just whenever I did, something else would push itself to the forefront of my mind… I would be reminded of that name. I would remember a word that Dad had said, and it would spark some inexplicable thought or worry, and my concentration would waver again.

Meloi did her best, attacking to the best of her abilities, but it became evident within only a few short minutes of the battle that I didn't stand a chance. I could barely concentrate on anything. The battle diminished itself in my eyes until it became nothing more than that television program you had on in the background, only half listening to and only half watching. The sounds of the crowd, their cheering, roaring, gasps and yells became nothing but a dull, muffled buzz. The only thing I could think about was what my father had told me. Those worries refused to be stilled or silenced, and my concentration suffered. I could see Meloi trying. She was trying so hard to put up a good fight. Even with my limited instructions, I could see her working out the best way to attack the gigantic Charizard that was relentlessly on her tail. But it was useless. I just couldn't get into gear, I couldn't give Meloi the guidance that she needed and the Charizard eventually took her out…

I felt numb as I saw Meloi fall to the ground, defeated. Not even the sight of my best friend falling to her defeat was enough to snap me out of my stupor, and I recalled her almost listlessly. The announcer was saying something. I didn't listen. I shook Grey's hand in recognition of my loss. However, it was more for politeness and tradition than for actual want. He spoke to me, saying something about 'are you okay?' and 'sorry' but I barely listened. I didn't even feel any emotion to my loss.

I found myself walking away. I was ushered into a waiting room where the other previously defeated contestants were sitting so they had a good position to watch the remaining battles. As soon as I entered the room, Nikki collided with me, demanding to know if I was okay. I barely even looked at her. Not even Jasmine's voice, loud, bossy and right in my face could snap me out of it.

"What the hell, Sienna? What happened out there! You just went to pieces!"

"Sienna!" Nikki was clutching onto my hand. "Are you okay? What _happened_?"

Then I heard Bailey's voice. "Sienna, you're white as a sheet! Talk to us!"

"I… I don't want to talk about it. Just… just leave me alone a few minutes, okay?" my voice caught in my throat at this point. Finally, everything dawned on me and I had to push past my friends and make a run for it. My emotions were bubbling ferociously, in danger of completely spilling over and erupting there and then, and I felt a telltale lump catch in my throat. My eyes began to sting with tears, and a sense of hopelessness and guilt overcame me. Without even thinking, I headed straight for the women's bathrooms, locked myself in a cubicle and immediately burst into anguished sobs.

"_What's going on? What have I done…? What am I even doing…? I don't… I don't even know what to do anymore…"_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note <strong>

**I AM SO SORRY!**

**I had so much work to do over the past couple months for university that I just couldn't find the time to update... I'm so sorry...**

**Good news is though that now I'm officially done with university for the summer, I'll be able to update much more frequently! **

**So yeah! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it didn't suck really badly :) There's an indication to the plot in this chapter which should start to present itself more solidly within the next five chapters or son :)**

**Thanks to all my regular readers for sticking with me, and special thanks go to my boyfriend MasterFreezeman for once again putting up with my craziness as I was writing this over Skype. And for all the help with the battle logistics :P **

**My lovely reviewers Sniper Mudkip, WarriorSwift, Shadow of Eckhart, ArchXDeath, Shadow-Wolf-Hikaru, Shadow Serenity 57, WOWFan123, TwewyRepearGirl, WildCroconaw, Something dictionary related and the Neverending Meep all deserve some thanks for your lovely reviews!**

**Well until the next update! ****Please leave a review if you can!**

**OceanSpiral out!**


	29. The Inevitable Clash

I have no idea how long I stayed in that tiny bathroom cubicle, just crying my eyes out, sobbing for all the wrong and bitterness in the world. It felt like hours, but at the same time, it felt like only mere seconds had passed before I heard the noise of the door to the bathrooms creaking open and the noise of light footfalls.

"Sienna?"

My heart sunk when I heard Nikki's voice. I immediately shut up, trying to catch my sobs, but I couldn't. I only ended up hiccoughing and spluttering. Even after that disaster, I still tried desperately to keep quiet. But my body betrayed me and I ended up gasping and wheezing. Not a good way to keep a low profile, that was for sure…

"Sienna?"

"_Please go away,_" I willed, thudding my head helplessly into my arms.

But my hopes of Nikki just turning around and leaving were immediately dashed. No sooner had I put my head down, I heard the noise of a Pokeball opening. "Magby, go look for Sienna, okay?"

I inwardly cursed as I heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet across the bathroom floor. I prayed to every God in existence that the Pokemon wouldn't be able to notice me, but once again, I had no such luck. After only a few seconds of the Pokemon running up and down past the stalls, a tiny head popped under the gap of the door. "Mag! Magby!"

I blinked at the face now looking at me. "Go away!" I hissed, trying to bat him away. "Go _away_!"

"Mag! Mag_by_!" Magby said indignantly, before squeezing himself underneath the gap and approaching me. "Magby! Magby!"

I tried to shut him up, but it was useless. A shadow darkened the floor just outside the door seconds later and I grimaced. "Magby, have you found her?"

"Mag!"

"Gee, thanks…" I glared at the Pokemon for betraying me, while sniffing violently and rubbing my eyes. I still made no move to get up or unlock the door.

"Sienna?" Nikki began rapping gently on the cubicle door. "Are you okay?"

I remained stubbornly silent. Magby nudged me, narrowing his eyes angrily as if trying to will me to answer the demands of his trainer. I just glared back and sunk my head into my hands once again. I had made up my mind that I wasn't coming out.

A few minutes passed. There was a slight sigh at the other end of the door. I could feel questions that Nikki was no doubt itching to ask lie heavy in the air, but I certainly wasn't going to instigate any form of conversation. Right now, after everything that had just gone on, with everything I was feeling, I was quite happy to sit in this tiny cubicle for the rest of my life.

"You're… you're missing out on some good battles out there…"

I blinked, and slowly raised my head. That was certainly the last thing I was expecting her to say, and for some reason, it implored me to speak. I cleared my throat, trying to dislodge the lump that had formed there. "R…really…?" I eventually choked out.

"Yeah," Nikki's tone was light, almost conversational, and for some reason, I immediately trusted it. "Scott beat Alicia for one. It was a really great battle, and Scott actually used a Pokemon that wasn't his Quagsire."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he used his Marowak against Alicia's Zoruark. Oh, but then Alicia used Milotic, so you can guess what happened there."

"It beat Scott's Marowak…?"

"Yeah," Nikki sounded initially a little sad, but then seemed to brighten up a bit. "But then Scott brought out Pidgeot to take on the Milotic, and he won! It was an amazing battle, really! I was really proud of him! You'd have loved it!"

"Really…?" I nodded, slowly. Nikki sounded so enthusiastic and ecstatic that it was hard for me to not take an interest in what she was saying. I also found myself almost wanting to know more about the battle…

"Yeah! And Elliot's fighting Crow now!"

This one made me sit up and pay attention straight away. "He is?"

"Yeah, and Elliot's winning! Isn't that great?"

I felt a peculiar pang of emotion at this statement. I was rooting for Elliot, of course I was, but still, I felt bad for Crow. I liked the guy. He was one of those rare decent young men out there, and I would have liked to have seen him go further. It was just a shame he had to battle Elliot… Because even with as good as a trainer I knew Crow to be, I knew deep down that Elliot would prove the superior trainer… Elliot really was just _that _good.

"Y-yeah… I guess it is," I said, reaching out my hand absent-mindedly to pat Magby on the head. Nikki's Magby always had been the over-affectionate type, forever clamouring for attention and this time was no different, as he was now currently trying to clamber onto my lap. "What Pokemon is he using?"

"When I left he was using his Umbreon against Crow's Umbreon!" Nikki sounded rather excited as she relayed the details of the battle. "It was neck and neck when I left, like I honestly don't know which Umbreon is gonna win!"

"Wow, battle of the Umbreons, huh?"

"Yeah!" she said enthusiastically. "But of course, he'd already won the previous round, using Umbreon against Crow's Breloom,"

"I see," I murmured. "So, Elliot's still likely to win though…?"

"I think so," Nikki said lightly, but then she paused for a little while. She cleared her throat a few seconds later. "After Elliot and Crow, the next battle is between Celeste and Natsuki. They're saying it's gonna be a real exciting battle. You should really come out and watch it, you know…?"

"Mmm," I murmured noncommittally. "I don't really feel like it right now…"

"Why...?" she asked, and I sensed her leaning her weight against the cubicle door. When she spoke again, her voice was notably softer. Soft enough that I seriously had to strain my ears to make out exactly what it was she was saying. "Is it about what happened earlier? When you lost…?"

I knew the question was coming, but it still didn't stop me from balking at it. I stuttered and stammered, not sure what to say. What _could _I say, really? In the end, I settled for just murmuring incoherently, hoping she'd change the subject. Of course, again, I had no such luck.

"Sienna, you went to pieces out there…" Nikki's voice was rising now, and cracking ominously. "I've never seen you look so… so…"

As she trailed off, I couldn't help but ask "What? So what…?"

"I don't know, that's the thing!" Nikki suddenly cried and I found myself wincing at the high pitch it suddenly adopted. "You just looked like you weren't even _there_! Like… almost like the world was going on without you…"

Nikki's words hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks and I slowly felt my heart sink to somewhere in the pits of my stomach. I wrapped my arms around myself until I ended up squeezing myself so hard I felt pain. Even Magby seemed to pick up on my mood change and let out a low murmur, before butting his head into my arm.

I let out a deep exhale. "I felt that way…"

I heard Nikki gasp. "You did…?"

"Y-yeah…"

"But _why_?" Nikki pressed me. "Was it because of Grey? Were you scared of the battle? His Pokemon? Did you just freak out, like what happened with Bugsy? Come on, Sienna, you have to talk to me here… I just wanna help… What _happened_?"

Nikki's questioning continued in similar stead for quite some time, while I sat there, beginning to feel tenser and tenser with each question she relentlessly fired at me. My hands clasped tighter and tighter together until eventually the questions got too much for me and I felt something snap. "Nikki! Enough!"

Nikki let out a squeak. "S-sorry!"

I instantly felt bad at the outburst, and I let out a deep sigh, before restraining myself. "N-no, I'm sorry…" I said, and I meant it too, feeling very ashamed at myself for snapping. "It wasn't anything to do with Grey… I mean, yeah, he was a fantastic battler, but that's not the reason I just… I just…"

"Fell apart?"

"Yeah, we'll go with that," I said, failing to feel a stab of embarrassment at Nikki's choice of words.

"So, if that's not the reason you just broke down like that, what _was_?"

I hesitated at this point. I really wasn't sure if I wanted to tell Nikki. The first overwhelming impulse I had was not to say anything. Dad had said that what he had told me might all blow over within a couple days and simply amount to nothing. I knew this, but at the same time, there was another nagging, persistent worry demanding my attention. What if it didn't? The thought filled me with such a deep, ingrained fear that I wanted to do nothing more than curl up in a ball on the floor and cry. If something like this had even the _slightest _possibility of being true, didn't my friends deserve to know? I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. I had to tell her. I just had to…

Besides, it wasn't like I could come up with a lie convincing enough to hide the truth anyway…

"I got a phone call from my dad…" I began slowly, before launching into the whole sorry story. I couldn't see Nikki, of course, but judging from the awed gasps and murmured 'no's' she constantly uttered as I recounted everything my dad had told me, she wasn't taking the news well. I couldn't blame her. Even Magby was oddly quiet and subdued, not making a sound, barely even _moving_.

When I was eventually finished speaking, exhausted by pouring out the entire unbelievable story, my worries and fears to Nikki, there was a long silence. For a moment, I was suddenly inexplicably afraid that she wasn't even there, that she had slipped out without my even noticing. But then she murmured something softly that I couldn't quite catch. I had her repeat herself, and when she spoke, her voice was wavering dangerously. It almost sounded like she was close to tears herself.

"I… I can't believe this…"

"I know," I murmured, finally finding the courage to reach out, unlock the door and emerge from the bathroom stall. Magby trotted along merrily in my wake.

Nikki was standing by the mirrors now, staring deep into her reflection like it held the answers to every question she ever wanted to know. Not even Magby hopping up onto the sink next to her and pulling at her dress seemed enough to snap her out of it. I stood there for a few moments, not sure what to say or do.

"It might not happen the way we think it will, right?" she suddenly said, turning around to look at me, eyes wide and panicked.

"I… I don't... know…" I said truthfully. "Dad said there might not be any reason to worry, but… if there's even the slightest possibility that it _could _happen I want… I want to be prepared, you know…?"

"Sienna…" Nikki's voice was trembling. "I don't want anything like what happened two years ago to _ever _happen again… That was terrifying… For so long, we didn't know what was going on, what was truth, what was lies… We didn't even know if you were _alive _sometimes…"

My heart gave a painful twist. "Oh, Nikki…"

"When you left us that time, I honestly believed we'd never find you…" Nikki's shoulders were shaking. "I honestly thought we'd never find you and that one day, months later, we'd get a call saying you'd… you'd turned up dead somewhere…"

I let out an involuntary murmur, suddenly feeling horribly sad. I wanted to go up to Nikki, put my arms around her, anything to comfort her, but for some reason, I just couldn't. My feet remained stubbornly rooted to the spot and I just couldn't move.

"I don't want that to ever happen again…" she said, turning her dark eyes towards me that, I was shocked to see, were now glittering with unshed tears. "You have no idea how worried and scared I was… how Jasmine was… about our families, about our friends, about you… I don't ever want to have to go through that again…"

"I know, Nik, I know…" I whispered. "But we have to consider the possibility… from what Dad said, this Helene woman is dangerous. _Really _dangerous. If there's even the _slightest _chance it could happen, I need to make sure I'm prepared…"

"But I don't _want _it to happen!" Nikki insisted, shaking her head furiously.

"Neither do I," I said, hanging my head in return. "I'm not even sure what to think, you know? I want to think that this could never happen… But look at what happened with Nathan. None of us ever thought that could happen… It's more like the stuff out of comic books or kids' TV shows… We have to be prepared, that's all… just in _case_."

At this point, tears began to slip down Nikki's face and my heart gave a painful twist. "I don't want that to ever happen again, Sienna… I don't want that life… I don't want to be fighting for my life against the 'forces of evil' like some glorified super-hero… I don't want to be trapped in some weird… almost fantasy land where madmen like Nathan are allowed to run free and cause chaos. I don't want to see Legendary Pokemon summoned and exploited like they were nothing… I don't want to spend every waking moment of my life worrying about the safety of all the people I love…"

"Nikki, I know you don't…" I found myself saying. "You think I don't want that? I never want anything like what happened two years ago to ever happen again… But it's stupid to just brush it away and pretend like it's never going to happen when there's even the slightest possibility that it _could_…"

Nikki sniffed, and wiped her eyes fiercely. "So… so what do we do…?"

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "But for now, I guess we just carry on with our lives. I know that's not easy!" I added hastily as Nikki turned a shocked face towards me. "But we just have to keep going. There's no use in letting this take over our lives…"

"Easier said than done…" Nikki said with a solemn sigh.

"I know…" I said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. "But come on… we can do this, right? We've just got to be strong and keep our heads up."

"Yeah…"

"Admittedly, I'm not looking forward to telling the others about this…" I sighed, bringing my hand back down to my side. "They're going to just go to pieces…"

"I know," Nikki murmured. "It's just—"

We were suddenly cut off when the door to the bathroom suddenly swung open and banged loudly against the wall. In an almost undetectable blur, Jasmine sped in, coming to a halt just in front of us, only _just _missing out on knocking the two of us over. "The hell is _taking _you guys so long?"

"Jazz!" I cried, taking a step back in shock. "What are you—?"

"No time for any of that now!" Jasmine said impatiently, shooting Nikki a look that made her noticeably flinch. "I sent Nikki down here because I know she's much better at all this stuff about making people feel better than I ever will be, but I didn't think you'd take this long!"

"I'm sorry…" Nikki apologised meekly. "It's just—"

"No apologies!" Jasmine cried. "This is serious, you guys! The final battle is just about to start!"

"Wait, what!" I gasped, looking at Nikki in shock. "We… were in here that long?"

"Yes!" Jasmine cried, exasperated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The semi-finals are over! It's down to the last two challengers!"

"Well, who _are _they…?" I asked, feeling my heart twist ominously.

Jasmine's face immediately hardened. "Elliot…"

My heart leapt. Elliot was in the final?

"… and Scott…"

And with that one word, my heart plummeted back down to somewhere in my stomach.

"What?" Nikki cried in shock. "Elliot and Scott?"

"Yeah…" Jasmine said, looking from both of us in turn. "And it's probably going to be hard enough on those two already! I think they'd _really _appreciate you two being there!"

"Y-yeah," I stuttered, shooting Nikki a bewildered look. "C-come on, then!"

Without even a second glance, the three of us bolted from the women's bathrooms and out into the rest area again. Without even bothering to think if we were even _allowed _to do this, we sprinted straight past the other knocked-out competitors and out onto the battlefield, completely ignoring Bailey's cries after us. Sneaking past onto the battlefield was surprisingly easier than I thought and we weren't caught as we somehow ascended the stairs and snagged some empty front row seats. But to my surprise, the battleground was completely and utterly deserted apart from the proctor and announcer.

"Where are they?" I hissed to Nikki and Jasmine.

"Getting ready, I think…" Nikki whispered back.

Even as Nikki said this, a sudden screeching noise cut through her like a knife and the announcer was hollering into the microphone. "And now! Yes! And now, this is the moment you've all been waiting for! This is the final battle, yes the final battle!"

I tensed. Next to me, Nikki also stiffened. Her hands were clenched tightly.

"This battle will be between, yes, between Elliot Wood of Pallet Town and Scott Harper of Fuchsia City! Please, welcome, yes, please welcome them to the battlefield!"

At this, against the triumphant and pounding beat of a rock song that sprang up no sooner had the words left the announcers lips, the doors to the dugouts on either ends of the battlefield opened and both Elliot and Scott emerged. Smoke and confetti began bursting out behind either trainer as they walked. Cameras zoomed in to them as they walked to take their places. Elliot looked almost mildly embarrassed at all the attention, whereas Scott just looked bored, absent-mindedly flicking a piece of red confetti from his hair.

The booming music and over-the-top spectacle died down as soon as both of them took their places, sending the entire stadium into a hushed, venerable silence, almost like the kind of silence one would expect in church or at a funeral. Nikki's hand suddenly found mine and she squeezed it. I caught her eye.

"This is going to kill whoever loses, isn't it…?" she whispered.

"I think so…" I murmured.

"Now, yes, now!" the announcer was shouting into the microphone. "Now begins, yes, now begins the final battle! Between Elliot Wood of Pallet Town and Scott Harper of Fuchsia City!"

"He's already said that…" Jasmine murmured vehemently under her breath.

"This battle, yes, in this battle, things will be very different, yes, very different! For one, this will be a six-on-six, ho holds barred battle! We have also, yes, we have also allowed each trainer to shuffle their Pokemon teams completely! That means, yes, that means they can pick an entirely new team if they so wish! Now, I can report that challengers Elliot and Scott both chose to shuffle their teams, am I correct?"

The cameras zoomed in on both Elliot and Scott, and overhead on the giant TV screens, I saw them both give a decisive nod. At their nod, the largest TV screen, the one in the centre of the stadium suddenly lit up, showing pictures of both Elliot and Scott, one to either side. Six empty slots next to their names suddenly began lighting up with images of Pokemon.

"However, yes, however! As a condition for being allowed to shuffle their team, their teams will be shown to both the audience and the opposing trainer!"

Elliot's team was the first to light up fully. It showed pictures of a Venusaur, Umbreon, Tropius, Shiftry, Absol and Cacturne. I was surprised, particularly by the reveal of the Shiftry and Absol. Both were Pokemon I knew Elliot owned, and even if I didn't know he owned them specifically, I could easily have guessed they were the sort of Pokemon he'd use. He did exclusively train Grass, Dark and dual Grass/Dark types, of course. However, they weren't Pokemon I saw him switch in and out of his main roster all that often. Nikki and Jasmine were also looking at me in confusion, almost as if looking for an explanation. All I could do in return was shrug, and hope that the blatant feeling of confusion I was feeling was showing up enough on my face to answer them. As the team lit up, I saw Scott carefully consulting the screen, his gaze never wavering.

Scott's team was the next to light up, revealing a Marowak, Pidgeot, Gabite, Quagsire, Torkoal and Tauros. I blinked in surprise at the addition of the Torkoal and Tauros, two Pokemon I had never even heard him _reference_ let alone even use. His Marowak I knew to be his starter Pokemon, his Pidgeot and Quagsire were two of his most trusted battlers, and his Gabite I also knew was a force to be reckoned with, having taken out Bugsy's two Pokemon without so much as a backward glance. The Torkoal and Tauros sounded intimidating enough on paper, but knowing they were under Scott's tutelage immediately made me get nervous. A Torkoal, properly trained, could be potentially devastating for the Grass types Elliot favoured. And as I caught sight of the cool, calm, collected look Scott was now displaying, I got the feeling it was by no accident he had added that particular Pokemon to his team. Scott wasn't stupid. He meant business. I knew he had wanted to battle Elliot from the moment he had first seen him, all the way back on that ferry ride to Hoenn. Seeing Elliot there at the Elite Four stronghold had sparked something in that cocky young 12 year old and ever since then he had been fixated on battling him. Specifically _him. _He had never told us the reason why he yearned so much to battle Elliot, and none of us could even attempt at guessing why, not even Elliot himself or even Nikki, his own sister. It remained a stubborn mystery, as did most of what made Scott tick did…

"I can't believe it's come down to this… Elliot and Scott…" Jasmine muttered.

"Me neither…" I said.

"Type advantages dictates that Scott's going to win here," Jasmine then said, singling out the images of Pidgeot and Torkoal with her finger. "I mean, Elliot's team is almost _all _Grass apart from Umbreon and Absol. He can't really expect to hold out the whole way with just those two!"

"Yeah, but guys… it's _Elliot, _come on!"

"Sienna," Jasmine gave me a firm look. "It's _Scott. _Look at what he's showed us he can do. He's beaten all the Kanto Gym Leaders; he's practically bulldozed his way through this competition—"

"So has Elliot!" I argued back. "Elliot's beaten way more Gym Leaders than Scott has! And he's had hardly _any _problems with the tournament either! _And _he made it to the Elite Four!"

"But Sienna—!"

Jasmine didn't get a chance to rebuke me as suddenly the noise of what sounded suspiciously like a starting pistol echoed through the stadium, signalling the beginning of the battle. Before I could even comprehend what was going on, the battle was underway. Scott hurled a Pokeball straight into the arena with such force I had bizarre mental images of the Pokeball travelling too far and ending up smacking some innocent spectator in the face. Thankfully, the Pokeball came to a safe halt midway across the arena, before releasing his rather dopey looking Quagsire. No sooner had it been released, the camera zoomed straight in on Elliot's face. He looked a little bemused. I didn't blame him…

"Why is Scott leading off with Quagsire?" I asked slowly. "That's an _instant _disadvantage, considering most of Elliot's Pokemon are Grass types."

"Oh, you know Scott." Nikki piped up next to me. "He's just like Elliot. He doesn't care about type advantages or disadvantages…"

"True…" I said with a low groan, sinking my head into my hands. I was really starting to get worried. At this stage, I really didn't know what was going to happen here. I didn't know what I was going to see. I didn't know what to expect, what not to expect, and I certainly didn't have so much as even half a notion as to who the eventual victor was going to be. My hands clenched into fists and my teeth gritted of their own accord. I knew deep inside me that this had been waiting to happen for a long time. It was inevitable really… But it still hadn't prepared me for it actually happening. And I can honestly say, I had no idea what was going to happen…

Part of me didn't want to find out, either…

The crowd once again descended into silence as Elliot slowly picked out a Pokeball and tossed it, almost casually, and wordlessly into the arena. I wasn't surprised to see the figure of Cacturne appear into the arena. The Cacturne focused itself immediately on the dopey figure of Quagsire, its menacing yellow eyes glinting underneath its dark green and spiky tipped hat.

"This first match will be between Elliot Wood's Cacturne and Scott Harper's Quagsire! You may not use items, but you _may _substitute Pokemon freely as you wish. And… begin!"

"Cacturne, use Spikes!" Elliot bellowed the second the word 'begin' left the announcer's mouth.

But Scott was just as fast. "Quagsire, Amnesia!"

I sat there, my mouth hanging open at the strange moves that Elliot and Scott had just used. Elliot's Cacturne jumped back, suddenly launched itself into the air and began to spin very rapidly. Frowning deeply, I turned to Nikki, but she looked just as stunned as I was. I had only just diverted my attention back to the still spinning Cacturne when all of a sudden, white glowing spikes began shooting out all over the battlefield! While I instantly anticipated this to be some kind of damaging move, the spikes fell short of hitting the Quagsire and instead seemed to litter itself around the battlefield, not even coming close to hitting the Quagsire. On Scott's side, the Quagsire stayed perfectly still. The only thing that seemed to happen was a slightly dopier expression playing over the Quagsire's face. Then both Pokemon became still.

"What the hell happened…?" I said, looking to Jasmine for enlightenment.

"Spikes…" Jasmine was saying slowly over and over, until eventually her face lit up with realisation. "Oh, I get it… Elliot must have thought Scott would switch out his Quagsire as soon as he saw him using a Grass type…"

"What does Spikes even _do_?"

"It sets out spikes that cause damage to any Pokemon that are switched or replaced."

"Oh…" I said with a decisive nod, finally understanding.

"Yeah," Jasmine continued, indicating the spikes littering the battlefield. "So, every time Scott switches in a Pokemon, they'll get damage."

"Nice strategy," I commented, realising just how clever that really was. "But what about what Scott did?"

"Amnesia," Jasmine explained. "The Pokemon ends up forgetting something, I'm not quite sure what though, and somehow forgetting ends up raising its defence… Don't ask me how, it just happens…"

"Oh…" I murmured, wincing at the explanation Jasmine had just given me. The move Amnesia somehow allowed the Pokemon to raise its defence? Quagsire already _had_ a high enough defence! It didn't _need _any more help! Its defences were rock solid already, practically impenetrable!

However, while I was inwardly panicking at what was going on, Elliot didn't look too bothered by the fact Scott's Quagsire had just increased its defence. In, fact, it only seemed to steel his resolve, and a renewed look of determination shadowed his face. He glanced to the side, caught his Cacturne's eye and immediately shouted out his next order. "All right, Cacturne! Leech Seed now!"

At this point, the camera pulled in on Scott, and the entire stadium saw a mild look of panic cross his face at Elliot's order. But it was only momentary as he quickly righted himself and also ordered an attack. "Quagsire, Mud Shot, quickly!"

Elliot's Quagsire somehow proved faster than the Cacturne, shooting a blast of mud straight towards the cactus Pokemon with frightening speed that I honestly didn't think the Quagsire capable of. It hit Elliot's Cacturne square in the eyes, making it recoil, crying out in pain. It was completely blinded! It couldn't attack, and this time a look of panic on Elliot's face was quickly broadcast to the whole arena. My heart plummeted.

"Quagsire, pull up a Mist, now!"

Within seconds of his master's command, a thick white cloud of sparkling mist came from nowhere and suddenly descended on the battlefield. A definite chill went through the air and I shuddered as the temperature suddenly dropped. Goosebumps erupted all over my bare skin and my teeth began to chatter. As the mist continued to roll in, thicker and thicker it became so thick and hazy that it very quickly became impossible to see the trainers, let alone the Pokemon on the battlefield.

"What is Scott _doing_?" I cried, standing up, trying to get a better look at the arena.

"I don't know!" Nikki called shrilly behind me.

It was practically impossible to make out what was going on in the battlefield, but the silence in the arena made sure that we could at least _hear _something. "Cacturne!" I heard Elliot shout. "Can you see, buddy? Don't panic! Set up an Ingrain now, okay?"

Obviously the mist was so thick on the battlefield that I couldn't see what was going on, but there was no mistaking what Elliot had said. Thankfully, I knew what Ingrain was. It was a move that helped restore health. Realisation hit me and I found worry bubbling up inside me again. Elliot must have been worried about what was going to happen if he was setting that up as a pre-emptive strike…

Scott's voice suddenly rose out again. "Quagsire! Muddy Water, now!"

"Shoot!" I heard Elliot cry out as soon as Scott gave the order. "Come on, Cacturne! Try and dodge it!"

Even through the thick, low-hanging mist it was still impossible to miss the giant wall of water that suddenly rose from the left hand side of the stadium, courtesy of Scott's Quagsire. It swept straight across the battlefield, roaring and rushing so strongly that it reminded me of the powerful waves in the middle of a squall at sea. I heard screaming as the wave forcefully collided with the other end of the stadium, splashing and soaking the spectators. No sooner had it died away, the arena now thick with gloopy mud, I desperately searched the battlefield, looking for any sign of Elliot or Cacturne. The mist was thinning out now and it was finally easier to see. I finally spotted Cacturne, lying in a heap at the edge of the battlefield, completely covered in mud.

"Oh God…"

After some encouragement from Elliot, it rose to its feet, albeit a bit wobbly. Elliot managed to get it to finally inflict some damage, taking advantage of a Faint Attack to get behind Quagsire, before nailing it with a close-contact Needle Arm. Unfortunately that was the last damage it was able to make on the dual Water/Ground type. Scott had his Pokemon, still remarkably healthy after the close-range Needle Arm, get in with another Mud Shot, catching the Pokemon off guard, before blasting it with an Ice Beam. He then sealed the deal with a vicious Slam that seemed to send a reverberation throughout the entire stadium; so much force did the Pokemon put behind it.

Seeing Elliot lose the first bout made me want to cry out, but Elliot himself didn't seem too disappointed in his loss. The next Pokemon he sent in was his Shiftry, a Pokemon I had rarely seen him use before, who he normally reserved for battles he needed heavy hitters for. While I initially anticipated Scott's Quagsire to keep giving Elliot problems, Elliot swept the battlefield with Shiftry in what I could only assume was a frustratingly short time for Scott. While Scott immediately responded with some heavy physical attacks, trying to use Earthquake to shake the new opponent, quite literally, off its guard, Shiftry was simply too quick, utilising an incredible Leaf Storm Within seconds, the battlefield was awash with spirals and cyclones of glowing green leaves that spun like a tornado towards the gormless looking Quagsire. The dual Water and Ground type simply couldn't stand up to such a viciously powerful Grass type attack and collapsed before the leaves had even all hit the ground.

With one win and one loss apiece, both trainers took a moment to stare each other out. Shiftry brought itself up to its full height, as if it was trying to intimidate Scott, whatever Pokemon he ended up bringing out, and the entire of the stadium. Scott's hand hovered for a few seconds over the Pokeballs he had strapped to his belt, evidently taking his time about making a decision. Eventually, he made up his mind, pulled out a Pokeball and revealed his Pidgeot.

I saw Elliot's face drop no sooner did the giant bird Pokemon soar into the air above his Shiftry. Even the Shiftry backed away, its menacing looks suddenly diminishing as it brought its leafy hands up to its face, almost like it was protecting itself.

"Scott's taking this seriously now…" I heard Nikki whisper under her breath.

"What?" I turned around to look at her. "You mean he _wasn't _before this?"

"No," she shook her head. "Remember what I said earlier? Scott normally doesn't care about type advantages and disadvantages. He's just like Elliot like that… When he starts to use Pokemon that are the type advantages, especially so early on, we know he's taking the battle seriously. He's worried. He's not sure he can beat Elliot…"

I nodded slowly.

"He wants to finish this battle as soon as possible," Nikki eventually surmised, her eyes slowly travelling over the two trainers and two Pokemon still standing solitary at either end of the battlefield.

I found myself swallowing hard. "I really don't know who's going to win…"

"Me neither…" Nikki said, suddenly seeming to withdraw into herself. "I guess it's out of our hands. Just gotta let them get on with it…"

"Yeah," I nodded, before sitting back in my seat and trying to relax. "One thing's for sure, though… this is gonna be one _hell _of a battle…"

And as I passed my eyes over Scott and Elliot, standing like mighty pillars at either end of the battlefield, a little tremor ran down my spine. Anticipation was bubbling in my body and I was finding it difficult to sit still. My legs were bouncing up and down, and a jittery feeling had completely taken me over. I didn't know what to do, what to think or even what to expect. I kept shooting nervous glances at Nikki and Jasmine, but they seemed totally transfixed by the arena. I steadied myself and refocused on the battle.

"_Good luck, guys…_" I thought, before letting out a deep sigh.

This was going to be the battle to end all battles…

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hi guys! Another update for you. Well, next chapter officially ends the battle tournament arc! Yay!**

**Following on from that arc, we will see some very exciting gym battles and a revelation into Meloi's backstory, which I'm really looking forward to writing :D**

**Special thanks again go to MasterFreezeman, my boyfriend, for keeping me sane as I was writing this and to my reviewers:**

**WarriorSwift: Yes, I'm back and updating again! Glad to think you like the sound of Helene, she's definitely going to be a fun character to write!**

**GentleBlossom: Aww, thank you so much :) And as for the OCs appearing in future chapters, I'm not entirely sure, to be honest... Maybe, maybe not, it depends if I can work it in somehow. **

**Shadow of Eckhart: I do agree that the battles were a little bit lacking in the description, but I didn't want chapters that were just battle scene after battle scene, to be honest. **

**Shadow Serenity 57: Thank you, I'm really hoping the plot will pick up and be interesting to follow :)**

**ArchXDeath: I'm so happy you still review me, you know? And I will catch up with your story too, I feel like such a bad friend for not keeping up O.O Thank you :D**

**TwewyReaperGirl: I'm not ready to work hard either! I'm too good at procrastinating :P **

**One more thing, guys. A very good friend of mine is publishing on this site now. His penname is Nayfan_Dickson and he's publishing a really funny original trainer story that is certainly very unique, so please do check it out. It's in my favourite stories, so please take some time ;)**

**Whoa, long author's note. OceanSpiral out!**

**Please leave a review if you can :D**


	30. Winner Takes All

My heart was thumping madly against my ribcage, almost like it was threatening to beat straight out of my chest as the Pidgeot and Shiftry circled each other slowly. The overhead screens were showing video footage of both Elliot and Scott, theirs faces marred and creased with concentration, but neither making a move. Scott's Pidgeot was hovering high above the battlefield, taking advantage of the open space to spread its wings, almost like it was asserting its dominance and proudly showing off the advantage it currently held. Elliot's Shiftry was warily looking upwards, blinking in the late afternoon sun, looking more than a little nervous…

Scott burst into action first. "Pidgeot, Aerial Ace!"

My heart plummeted down to my stomach. That was a close-combat move! And a powerful one at that! Potentially devastating for Elliot's Shiftry! Even just hearing the command sent icy cold fear through me. My stomach was churning and turning flips and I was actually starting to feel literally sick with worry… this really wasn't looking good for Elliot.

Until…

"Shiftry, jump up!"

This time, my heart leapt straight to my mouth. I watched in sheer amazement as Shiftry suddenly soared into the air, straight above Scott's incoming Pidgeot, effortlessly evading it as it dove towards the ground. Surprised by the Shiftry's agile abilities, the Pidgeot couldn't halt its flight and crashed to the ground in a puff of feathers.

"Shiftry, Dark Pulse!"

The grounded Pidgeot was an easy target for the balls of dark energy that swept across the battlefield and barraged everything in sight. While it still struggled to get airborne again, Elliot quickly ordered Shiftry to get back and use Sword's Dance. I saw Scott's face noticeably change as Elliot's Shiftry puffed itself up to an even more menacing and intimidating height. I tensed. That thing, and Elliot, meant business now.

"Pidgeot, get up and use Aerial Ace again!"

"Shiftry, don't let it! Seed Bomb!"

While Shiftry's Seed Bomb didn't seem to affect the Pidgeot too much, it threw the Pokemon off balance, preventing it from getting airborne again. It shrieked and flailed, flapping its giant wings uselessly, unable to get away. Even though Scott ordered his Pokemon to attack, the Pidgeot was flustered and panicked and couldn't get itself calmed down. Elliot immediately had Shiftry move in with another Dark Pulse, this one doing noticeably more damage. Even when Pidgeot eventually got itself back into the air, it was weakened beyond reprieve and collapsed out of the air after barely getting afloat. Elliot moved in with a Leaf Storm, finishing it up with a final Dark Pulse. It was over. The Flying Pokemon simply fell to the ground, completely overwhelmed.

"Unbelievable," I said slowly. "Elliot just took out a Flying Pokemon like that with his Shiftry… that's incredible…"

"I actually think Scott might be in trouble here…" Nikki whispered.

I turned to look at Nikki who was looking pale. "In trouble?"

"Yeah… and when Scott feels threatened, he pulls out the big guns…"

I certainly didn't like the sound of the 'big guns' Nikki had mentioned and I slowly turned my head back to the battlefield. Elliot's Shiftry was panting heavily now, looking exhausted. I frowned. His Shiftry was probably exhausted from the incredible physical strain he had exerted on himself. I had the sinking feeling that it probably wasn't going to last much longer. And from the way Elliot was shouting encouragement to his Pokemon, he was feeling that way too.

Scott was taking his time about choosing his next Pokemon. The entire stadium seemed to be holding his breath as he pulled out another Pokeball and tossed it forward. A collective gasp issued when Scott's Gabite emerged onto the field.

Elliot was biting his lip now at the sight of the Gabite. The Gabite, by the way, was quite excitable, practically jumping and down on the spot in its anticipation and a hungry look in its eye. I clenched my hands together. I knew how tough Dragon type Pokemon, even ones that weren't fully evolved like Gabite, could be. Even worse, I knew just how tough this particular Gabite could be from experience. This _was _the Pokemon that Scott had used to sweep Bugsy in barely any time at all. Elliot would really have to watch himself…

"Shiftry, use Leaf Storm!"

"Gabite, Take Down! Then Dragon Claw!"

Before Shiftry could even gather itself in preparation to execute the attack, the Gabite had lunged forward with frightening speed and collided bodily with the Shiftry. The Pokemon suddenly seemed horribly fragile as it was attacked letting out a rough yell of pain. Before it could even recover, the Gabite was on it again, its claws suddenly beginning to grow a strange blue in colour. It slashed its claws viciously across the Shiftry's body, which sent the Pokemon spiralling to the ground. Gabite landed effortlessly, a fierce look eroding its face as it stared down at the body of its opponent, as if daring him to get up again.

Shiftry didn't get up again.

Elliot recalled Shiftry silently. I was practically at the edge of my seat now. Both Elliot and Scott had lost two Pokemon each. Elliot had lost Cacturne and now Shiftry, while Scott's losses were Quagsire and Pidgeot. With that fact alone it should have been considered a pretty even playing field, I knew it certainly wasn't. Not at this point and not with that Gabite. I didn't know which Pokemon Elliot would choose next, but it would have to be something pretty special to take out Scott's Gabite.

"Mightyena, take the floor!"

In answer to my question Elliot's ferocious looking Mightyena burst out of the Pokeball, its vicious hackles raised. It immediately began growling loudly and threateningly. Even I found myself slightly taken aback by the Pokemon's intimidating display. I glanced at the Gabite, who had actually stepped back warily.

"Mightyena, start this off with a Howl!"

The Mightyena threw back its giant, shaggy head and let out an ear-piercing howl. It rose above even the noises of the crowd, silencing everyone almost immediately. The Gabite watched intently, not sure of what to do. The Mightyena's howl seemed to have unnerved it, and the Mightyena itself suddenly seemed so much more intimidating, roused from the Howl.

"Gabite, use Dig!"

"Don't let it, Mightyena! Crunch!"

Before the Gabite could even begin to tunnel its way down, Elliot's Mightyena sprung forward on its powerful long limbs, propelling itself straight at the Dragon Pokemon. It tackled the Dragon type, bringing it to the ground, its jaws firmly embedded in the Gabite's hide. The Gabite let out a roar of pain as it was knocked to the ground and its efforts to shake the Mightyena off were quickly proven to be in vain. The Dark Pokemon was hanging firmly on, its teeth biting so hard into the Gabite's body, I wholly anticipated the Pokemon to begin literally tearing the Gabite limb from limb.

"Dragon Claw it off!"

The Gabite obeyed, slashing its massive claws straight into the Mightyena's body, eventually knocking it away. The Mightyena got straight to its feet again, snarling angrily, before tackling the Gabite to the ground once more. It was a textbook perfect Take Down that packed a hell of a punch. However, the Dragon type responded with another Dragon Claw that knocked Mightyena back. As the Mightyena yelped in pain and fell to the ground, the Gabite suddenly tunnelled underground.

"Oh no…" I said slowly.

An eerie silence descended over the battlefield as Elliot's Mightyena, wounded and bleeding slightly pushed itself back onto its feet. It licked its wounds impatiently before surveying the battlefield. There was no sign of the Gabite anywhere.

"Mightyena! Odour Sleuth!"

The Mightyena obediently put its nose to the ground and began sniffing. It padded lightly across the ground, its nose firmly embedded in the dirt as it sought the missing Gabite. It moved so softly it barely even disturbed the soil.

Then, Mightyena stopped. It looked back at Elliot and I swore I saw it nod its head. And then, I saw Elliot nod.

And then the Mightyena suddenly dove towards the ground, disappearing completely!

"Mightyena used Dig too!" Jasmine suddenly yelled, bouncing out of her seat in shock.

Another silence fell as soon as the excited crowd managed to process what had just happened. Both Pokemon were deep underground and there was no sign of anything happening above ground. The whole place seemed to be holding its breath. I knew I was. I couldn't stand to watch; the tension was too much for me! But suddenly, when I felt I could bear it no longer, the earth where Mightyena had tunnelled into began to shift and shake, and the noises of yelps and cries of pain suddenly reached our ears.

"What's going on?" I cried frantically.

And then suddenly, the earth broke, and the Gabite and the Mightyena suddenly burst through. Gabite's claws were extended viciously and even as the two Pokemon reappeared, it twisted around in midair, slashing the hyena Pokemon right across its underbelly. The Pokemon howled in pain, fell to the ground and didn't get up again. It couldn't even defend itself from the final move Scott ordered, a Take Down.

Elliot was now down three Pokemon. My nerves were stretched practically to breaking point. That Gabite was a monster! A pure and utter monster! Even after seeing it take out Shiftry, I had still felt so sure that Elliot's Mightyena could take it out… I'd been wrong…

Absol was sent in next to deal with the monstrosity known as Gabite. The strange cat like Pokemon padded softly, calmly, almost serenely across the battlefield, eyeing the towering figure of the Gabite with distaste, as if it was nothing more than a mere Pidgey. I cast a glance at Scott. He looked calm. When I looked at Elliot however, his face was knotted in a frown. He was worried…

"Gabite, Dual Chop!"

"Absol, dodge, and set up a Swords Dance!"

Absol evaded the Gabite's attack flawlessly, bounding almost lazily out of the way. It retreated a fair distance before executing the Swords Dance, which I knew would give the Pokemon a hefty boost in attacking power. Scott was relentless though, ordering his Gabite to pursue the feline Pokemon, aiming Slash attacks and Dragon Claws. Elliot's Absol proved very agile, effortlessly dodging the bulky Pokemon's efforts and bounding out of harm's way. Just when I thought Elliot was going to keep up this game of chase and evade until both Pokemon were too exhausted to continue, Absol suddenly pivoted around, and aimed a Razor Wind straight at the incoming Gabite, catching it completely off-guard.

The Gabite took the attack hard, knocking it back and sending it to its knees. Elliot didn't waste any time, ordering the Absol to use a Night Slash which sent the Gabite spiralling to the ground again, onto its back. The Pokemon was significantly weakened now, but it still seemed to have some fight left it in. Aside from that, it looked mad…

Elliot thought ahead, getting Absol to use Detect to shield itself from the incoming Take Down Scott ordered. I chanced a glance at Scott. He was finally starting to display emotion, his mouth twisted into a slight frown. Elliot's Absol was obviously giving him trouble. Absol was a force to be reckoned with and Scott's Gabite was completely exhausted.

"Absol! Finish it with a final Night Slash!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as Scott's Gabite fell to the ground, defeated. Elliot's Absol looked totally cool and collected as if the feat it had just undertaken was nothing at all.

Scott recalled Gabite, looking a little frustrated as he replaced the Pokeball on his belt. The score was tied now, three losses each. The battle was on even ground currently and with the advantage shifting from Scott to Elliot and back again constantly, I honestly didn't know what was going to be the eventual outcome…

Scott's next choice was his Tauros, which snorted and pawed the ground angrily no sooner had it burst from the Pokeball. It looked angry and menacing, the battle-scarred horns atop its head looking like it could easily spear the Absol like a piece of skewered meat. The feline Pokemon backed away a little, looking a little frightened.

"Tauros, Horn Attack!"

"Absol, try and dodge!"

While Elliot's Absol did initially evade the rampaging bull's attacks, Scott seemed to take a flash of inspiration, ordering his Tauros to use Scary Face. The Tauros's face contorted into such a horribly frightening image that the Absol balked, completely unable to move. The Tauros then broke into a vicious Take Down, headbutting the Absol and sending it flying. It crashed into the ground, rolled away a few paces and came to a slow stop. It staggered to its feet slowly, but Scott ordered for an Iron Head. Elliot tried to get his Absol to protect itself by using Detect, but the move just didn't seem to work and Absol was completely bulldozed down. It was out.

"No, no, no, no!" I cried, beginning to panic. Elliot was losing now! He only had two Pokemon to defeat Scott's three! He still had his Tauros, Marowak and that worrying Torkoal to concede with. Fair enough, Elliot had kept back Vino and Jet for his final two, and I knew for a fact those were his strongest, but I was still very worried…

Elliot released Vino the Venusaur next who ambled almost sleepily onto the battlefield, yawning as it did so. My heart sunk seeing this. Vino didn't even look like he was _awake, _much less be capable of putting up a decent fight against this rowdy Tauros. But no sooner had Elliot given the order, Vino snapped into consciousness and delivered a Sweet Scent, making the Tauros drowsy as the powerful heavy scent swept over it. Slowed down, the Tauros was a complete sitting Ducklett for an incredibly powerful Razor Leaf that sliced at the Pokemon's tough hide, the leaves sharp enough to draw blood. Vino then took advantage of its incredible bulk to knock out the Tauros completely with a Double Edge.

Scott sent in his Marowak next, but the Pokemon's Ground type moves were completely ineffective on the giant brute of a Venusaur, and it fell victim to a SolarBeam that it just simply could neither evade nor stop. My heart began to beat so fast in my chest I started to feel ill again. Scott only had one Pokemon left. Elliot had two…

Scott's final Pokemon was Torkoal and no sooner had the Pokemon emerged, I knew what the outcome was going to be within moments. That Pokemon, although tiny in comparison to the Venusaur's massive bulk, looked entirely like it was ready for business. And it was. Within seconds it was shooting massive flames at Vino that the poor Grass type simply couldn't stand up to. Elliot put up a valiant effort, trying to get Vino to use Sleep Powder to put the Pokemon to sleep, but the Torkoal simply incinerated the fine powder. In the end, Vino didn't even stand a chance and fell to the ground burned and singed…

It was down to the last Pokemon each. Torkoal against Jet the Umbreon. You could literally hear a pin drop in the deathly silence of the stadium. Both trainers were staring intently at each other. Scott had given up the notion of passing himself off as blasé and emotionless and was biting his lip fiercely, his eyebrows knotted together and a worried frown deepending across his face. Elliot's teeth looked tightly clenched and he looked like he was about to burst from worry.

And then both trainers came to life.

"Torkoal, Lava Plume!"

"Jet, evade with Quick Attack, then use Confuse Ray!"

The Torkoal's display, as impressive and powerful as it was, didn't even come close to the speedy Umbreon as it darted out of the way of the explosion of fire and flames. It dashed forward, getting a safe distance away from the Fire type before letting loose a sinister ray with a strange high pitched humming sound. A glazed look suddenly came over the Pokemon as the ray surrounded it. I bit my lip. Torkoal was confused. This could completely change the whole battle.

"Torkoal! Snap out of it!" Scott called, trying to get through to his Pokemon. "Try Fire Spin!"

But the Torkoal didn't even seem to register Scott's command and it stood there, dazed, not even making a move. Elliot took his chance. "Umbreon, Faint Attack!"

However, Elliot's attempts to score some damage on the bulky Fire type didn't seem to have much effect. I wasn't sure if the fact Torkoal didn't even seem to notice the attack was down to its confused state, or because of its heightened defences. Either way, it didn't bode well for Elliot and Jet…

"Well, if you can't attack, try Iron Defence!"

Torkoal seemed to understand this time, quickly pulling all its limbs into its shell. Jet's subsequent Faint Attack simply bounced off uselessly. The Torkoal then emerged from the shell and shot a close-range Flamethrower that only _just _missed Jet. The frightened Umbreon backed off, looking worried. Elliot ordered another Faint Atack, but yet again, it seemed to barely damage the sturdy Fire type.

Scott then gave the order for his Torkoal to use Body Slam, but Elliot thought fast, getting Jet to once again speed out of the way of the attack. The Torkoal overshot the attack, slammed straight into the ground and seemed to wind itself, leaving it a target for Jet to use Payback, which eventually seemed to score some decent amage.

Scott's Torkoal still seemed to be confused as Scott's next order to use Smokescreen failed miserably, the Pokemon somehow managing to submerge _itself _in black smoke instead of Jet. Elliot snuck in with another well-timed Faint Attack before the Torkoal eventually seemed to get a grip of itself and shot back a Fire Spin, trapping the Dark type within a fiery circle. It shrieked in pain as the flames burned its feeble body.

"Jet!" I cried, standing up. This was bad. This was _really _bad!

"Now, quickly! Smog!"

As a noxious gas snaked its way towards Jet, my heart plummeted. The gas surrounded Jet, making the Pokemon howl in pain, almost like it had been burned. When the gas eventually faded away, Jet fell to his feet, panting heavily.

"Poisoned…" Jasmine said softly. "There's no way now…"

"_Elliot's gonna lose…_" I thought in horror as I saw Jet stagger to his feet again, looking exhausted and completely incapable of even standing, let alone fighting. The poor thing looked like it was going to fall over any second now.

But then…

"Jet! Payback!"

It was exactly the same attack as before, which had done little to no damage the first time, but this time it seemed completely different! It was hugely powerful! The attack sent Torkoal spiralling backwards, crashing to the ground. It was panting and wheezing now, and despite its best efforts to get up, simply couldn't get up.

"What the hell?" I cried out in shock, looking at Jasmine for an explanation.

"Payback…" she murmured slowly. "It does regular damage most of the time, but if it's used straight after the Pokemon is hurt or damaged, it does double damange on its opponent."

I didn't get a chance to reply as Elliot was suddenly shouting out an order. "Now, come on, Jet! You can do this! Faint Attack one last time!"

Jet was exhausted, but it managed to pull off the attack. For a moment, I thought it was all over and my heart leapt. But no sooner had Jet staggered away, looking it was about to drop any second, the Torkoal had stood up again.

"Oh no…"

But the Torkoal was wobbling on its feet. The crowd was deathly silent as the Pokemon wavered, its eyes lidding. Scott was clenching his fists, his face twisted in worry, and I could see him frantically mouthing something under his breath. Elliot looked like he was holding his breath, his face deathly pale. Jet too was staring at his opponent. For too long a time, everybody just watched and waited.

And then, as if we were watching a slow motion movie, the Torkoal's eyes suddenly rolled back into its head and it collapsed to the ground.

For a long moment, the entire crowd was silent. It was almost like no-one moved. No-one said anything. Like no-one was even _breathing_. I sat there, suddenly doubting what my eyes had just seen.

Then, the announcer was bellowing into the microphone. "Torkoal is no longer able to battle! Umbreon is the winner!"

Thunderous applause suddenly burst out all over the arena. For one complete mad moment, I had no idea what to do. I let out a uncontrollable squeal and immediately got to my feet, not sure whether to flap my arms up and down like an excitable chicken, jump up and down like an excitable child, or do both like an absolute nutcase.

"_Elliot's won_!"

Somehow managing to grasp a hold of myself and calm down, I glanced across and saw Scott slowly recall Torkoal. No sooner had he done so, however, the announcer and proctor had suddenly darted across to grab both he and Elliot respectively. They were then dragged into the centre of the battlefield. Elliot was looking stunned and Scott had the look of a man who really didn't want to be there. I couldn't however tell if he was angry or disappointed… or if he was even _either _of those things.

The announcer suddenly grabbed Elliot's hand and thrust his arm into the air. "Ladies and gentlemen, yes, ladies and gentlemen! Presenting the winner of the Violet City Battle Tournament, yes the _winner_ of Violet City Battle Tournament… Mr Elliot Wood!"

Applause and cheering were sounding out all over the Elliot stood rather nervously in the centre of the battlefield. He looked bemused and almost a little embarrassed at the cheering. I started cheering and clapping as loud as I could, hollering Elliot's name, feeling so proud that I felt I could burst. Nikki and Jasmine were both clapping, but perhaps not as enthusiastically as I was.

"And commiserations to our runner up, Mr Scott Harper!"

Scott inclined his head at the applause almost like a bow. He turned around as Elliot suddenly leaned across to tap him on the shoulder. Elliot then reached out his hand. Scott looked initially a little flummoxed, but reached out all the same. Elliot grasped the younger boy's hand and shook it firmly. And then, a smile broke out on Scott's face.

"Is Scott smiling?" Jasmine mouthed frantically.

I could only nod, a wide smile of my own suddenly breaking out over my face. "Yeah!" I shouted, jumping up and down and clapping my hands enthusiastically over my head. "You go, guys! I'm so proud of you!"

"Ladies and gentlement, this concludes, yes, this concludes the Annual Violet City Battle Tournament! Thank you, yes, thank you to all the talented trainers that took part this year! Once again, congratulations to Elliot, our winner today, and we look forward to seeing you all again next year for the next tournament! Thank you, yes, thank you and enjoy the rest of your day!"

And with that, the curtain was officially, and finally, drawn on the Violet City Battle tournament. The spectators began filing out and we saw Elliot and Scott making their way back towards the competitors rest room. I glanced at Nikki and Jasmine, motioned for them to follow me and the three of us immediately gave chase.

We entered the competitiors' rest room which was a hive of activitiy and excited buzzing. Elliot was surrounded by people, but as soon as he saw me among the crowd, his whole face lit up. My heart soared and I immediately began pushing past people to get to him. I threw myself bodily at Elliot as soon as I came within a close distance of him. I collided with him, wrapped my arms around him and gave him such a bone-crushing hug I swore I heard him squeak with pain. But then suddenly his arms were around me and he was hugging me back, his breath tickling my ear and hair.

"Hey, you," he whispered softly.

"Hey," I grinned, looking straight up into his green eyes. "Well done. I'm so proud of you,"

And then I reached up and kissed him, not even caring that we were in full view of all our friends and almost every single competitor from the tournament. I heard wolf-whistles and teasing, but I didn't even care. I just wrapped myself up in Elliot, and Elliot only, wishing this moment between he and I would just go on forever.

We were interrupted by the announcer suddenly sidling into the room. We broke apart as soon as his booming voice sounded out, thanking us for participating. He was gone as soon as he came however, and we were left alone. I consulted the time on my watch, realising that it was getting late. My stomach growled and I realised how hungry I was. I told this to the others, and they agreed that it would probably be best to leave for the night.

Of course I had a plethora of people to say goodbye to first, and in the buzzing atmosphere and tightly packed room it was difficult to find them. Everyone was desperate to talk to Elliot and congratulate him on his win, meaning the rest of us were sandwiched together with barely any room to move. However, I eventually managed to slip away and came face-to-face with Selphie, who had purposefully invaded the competitor's rest room, despite not even making it to the final round.

"Selphie!" I said excitedly.

"Sienna,"

She was smiling, which I considered rather unsual for Selphie. "You know, I'm kinda disappointed that you didn't go any further than you did… I thought you had it in you…"

"Uh, yeah…" I said with a sheepish laugh. "Guess I disappointed you, huh?"

"It's okay," she said rather offhandedly. "You did a lot better than I could, anyway."

I offered her a smile, but then caught her staring at the door in an almost wistful manner. I cleared my throat loudly before speaking again. "So… what's next for you?"

She shrugged a little. "I don't know. Get back on the road, I guess. Keep travelling. I've always travelled. Never stayed in one place too long…"

"Really…?"

She nodded. "Born on the road, live on the road. That's the way I like it. I wanna see the world, Sienna. I wanna learn about all the awesome things it has to offer." She then stopped, looking sheepish, almost as if she had revealed too much. This time, she cleared her throat and let out an impatient sigh. "We'll probably never see each other again,"

"You never know,"

"Statistically speaking, the odds of two people meeting again completely and totally by chance are slim at best," she said with another casual shrug.

"The future's not set in stone," I quipped back.

"Hmph," she said, crossing her arms. "Goodbye, Sienna."

"Until we meet again," I said to her retreating back.

She heard me, shot me a glare, shook her head and stalked off again. I couldn't help but smile. That girl was a character, there was no doubt about that. I waited until she was gone, before quietly murmuring "Goodbye, Selphie."

"Again? Really Sienna… I have _got _to get you out of this habit!"

I didn't even have to turn around to know who was responsible for that little quip. "Hello, Crow," I grinned.

"Miss Volbeda," he said, suddenly appearing by my side. His smile oozed charm and sophistication as it always did, and he completely removed his hat and dropped into a short bow.

"You're like a Victorian gentleman, you know that?" I joked.

"I try," he said, replacing his hat with a flourish, his brown eyes bright with mischief. "Anyway, as I cannot seem to get near the man of the hour," he indicated Elliot, still surrounded. "And considering I need to be on my way, please pass on my congratulations to him for the win, and thanks for such a great battle,"

"Oh, you're going?" I asked, feeling disappointed.

"I'm afraid so," he said smoothly. "Places to go, people to see, a black market to run…"

"What?"

"Side business," he said with a cheeky wink. "Very profitable."

"Is that legal?"

"It's only _illegal _if you get caught,"

"You know, you shouldn't be doing that." I said, shaking my head slightly.

"I know," he said with another wide smile.

I shook my head again, but this time I couldn't help but grin back. "You're hopeless,"

"We're all a little hopeless." He said with a mild shrug. "We're all rudderless ships in the icy black ocea, fighting the currents and trying to make the best of it all. So we cling onto our strengths and use them to get what we ultimately want out of life. And hey, if scamming and conning are mine, then who am I to deny myself them?"

I blinked slowly. "Wait a second… so for all this time, I've been hanging around with a… a…"

"A con artist, yes."

At that point, I could probably have been knocked over with a Pidgey feather. "I… I never even…"

"Guessed?" He said with another cheeky grin. "Sign of a good scam artist. Oh don't worry, I only do this on the side."

"That's a… great comfort…"

"You shouldn't trust anyone, Miss Volbeda," Crow said, idly readjusting the scarf hanging around his neck. "People aren't always what they seem to be. Or what they _believe _they are, either. So, be careful."

"Crow…" I said slowly. "Why are you…?" I trailed off, not sure how to end my sentence.

"Cos the world's a mad place. And most everyone who's in it is pretty mad, too."

I couldn't argue with that, so instead I simply smiled.

"Goodbye, Sienna Volbeda," Crow said, tipping his hat once again. He then reached his arm out and touched me gently on the arm. I found the contact a rather strange occurance, but dismissed it. "I sincerely hope our paths cross again in the future,"

"Bye, Crow." I said, waving him off.

As I watched the various retreating backs of the people I had met and gotten to know, I felt a peculiar sadness swell up inside me. Selphie and Crow had already left, and the competitors' rest room was finally beginning to empty out. As I scanned the crowd, I caught sight of Hikaru Brown leaving, followed closely by Melinda Hughes. They didn't even see me, and I found myself wishing I could say goodbye. As I stood there, a peculiar shiver suddenly ran down my spine and I turned around to see Natsuki Ikebana staring back at me. I jumped, startled. I wanted to say something, but my mouth simply wouldn't work. She said nothing either, simply stared at me for a few seconds, before turning on her heel and slowly gliding out, her Gastly floating alongside her.

"Hey, you."

I almost jumped out of my skin at the unfamiliar voice. When I pivoted around, I almost collapsed _again _when I saw who was addressing me. Jade Black. He had removed the cloak from around his shoulders, making him seem marginally less intimidating and more of a real, approachable person.

"Tell your boyfriend he did good," Jade said, rather stiffly, I felt.

"Me? Why me? W…why don't you tell him?" I asked meekly.

Jade cocked an eyebrow at me. "I have better things to do than concern myself with idle chit-chat. I have gyms to battle, a vow to uphold and a championship to win."

Admittedly, the mention of the 'vow' had me intrigued, but I didn't want to probe too far into this guy's personal issues. He kind of scared me. "A championship…?"

"Yes, a championship." He said, before turning on his heel and beginning to walk away. After a few steps, he turned to look back over his shoulder. "Remember the name. Jade Black. You'll be hearing a lot about it. So, you'd do well to remember it."

I waited until he was a safe distance away from me before exhaling deeply and muttering under my breath "It's not like it I'll ever _forget _that name…"

"Sienna!"

I turned around at the sound of yet another familiar voice and came face-to-face with Grey and Luca. "Hey, guys," I greeted them with a smile.

"Hey, Sienna." Luca waved. "Just stopping off to say goodbye."

"You as well?" I asked sadly. "Everyone's leaving… I thought some people might be hanging around in Violet City for a while."

"I can't, sorry," Luca said sheepishly. "I'm meeting my friend and then we're heading up to battle Pryce. I'm after my seventh Gym badge."

"And I'm heading home to Blackthorn for a little while," Grey cut in. "I've been training too long. I kinda want a break before I go back out on the road."

"Nothing wrong with taking a break," I said with an approving nod.

Grey smiled, absentmindedly tugging on a frayed bandage on his arm. His eyes were shining behind his square-framed glasses. "Well, I'm not normally one for taking breaks… I have a lot I want to do."

"Like?" I found myself asking.

He shrugged a little. "I guess the same as anyone, really. Beat a League. Take on the Elite Four. Maybe even beat a champion. Oh, and I'd really love to see Lugia."

"Lugia?" Luca suddenly intercepted. "The _Legendary _Pokemon, Lugia?"

"Yeah," Grey nodded. "I don't know why, I'd just really love to see it. I know it's not likely… Legendary Pokemon don't appear to just _anyone._ They're rare for a reason."

"Mm," I nodded, struggling to bite my tongue. I'd seen Legendary Pokemon before… but somehow I doubted Grey would be particularly enthused to learn someone like me had seen them before. Instead I bit back what I wanted to say, cleared my throat and told him "Well, good luck,"

"I'll need it," Grey said with another smile. "Well, I guess I'll see you around. Was great meeting you guys. Take care,"

"Bye, Grey."

No sooner had Grey left, Luca turned a cheery face to me. "Well, I need to get going too. Gotta pick up my friend, Ophelia, and then head back home to Mahogany Town. I've got a battle with the Gym Leader up there, and I'm out to prove a lot…"

I nodded.

"What about you? What are you doing?"

I shrugged. "Take on Faulkner, and then find another Gym to battle. Then… then I guess I'm out to prove something, too."

"Well, here." Luca said, passing across his Pokegear. "Put your number in there. I'd love to hear about if you manage to prove whatever it is you want to,"

"Sure," I said, smiling, programming my number into the high-tech little gadget. "Don't be a stranger, okay?"

"I won't," he said, pocketing the device. "Well, I gotta go. Goodbye, Sienna."

"Bye Luca…"

And just like that, everyone else was gone. Now it only seemed to be myself and my friends left. I let out a resigned sigh and slipped my hands into the pocket of my jeans. My fingers suddenly touched rustling paper and I pulled out whatever it was in confusion.

It was a folded up piece of paper with writing scrawled across it. The script was thin and jagged, almost incomprehensible. It took me a good few minutes to decode it.

"_If you ever need to buy something 'on the cheap', sell off some 'suspicious' stuff, get a hold of some 'top-secret' information or just con a local idiot, look me up. _

_Your friendly neighbourhood scam artist,_

_- Crow_

"Crow!" I gasped as I caught sight of a string of numbers scrawled at the bottom of the note. "How did he—? _When _did he—?"

"Sienna!"

"Huh?"

I turned around to see Elliot coming towards me. I hastily stuffed the note back in my pocket. "Hey,"

"Hey, yourself." He grinned, reaching out and wrapping his arms around my waist. "You ready to go back to the Pokemon Centre?"

"Oh, Arceus, yes." I grinned. "It's been a long day,"

"I know," he said, leaning down and planting a soft, sweet kiss on my lips. "Come on, let's take you back for the night, okay?"

"Okay," I grinned.

But my happiness over the day finally ending and getting to relax were horribly short-lived. As we collected the others and began to walk, I was suddenly reminded of the conversation I had had with my father… The woman Helene Fontaine…

Who was she? What did she want…?

And most importantly, could any of us be in danger because of her?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**AND IT'S FINALLY OVER!**

**This arc has been so hard to write but it's finally over :D **

**Special thanks go to MasterFreezeman and The Neverending Meep for helping me with the battle between Scott and Elliot. You guys were lifesavers, honestly :)**

**I have the next chapter already written up, so you should get it by the end of next week :)**

**Thanks to my reviewers Sniper Mudkip, WarriorSwift, Shadow Serenity 57, The Neverending Meep, TwewyReaperGirl, TCoBlackRoses, Final Flame Dragon and Aeroga!**

**Until next time! When I PROMISE things will start to get very interesting :D**


	31. The Midnight Raid

It was the next day before I even got a _chance_ to tell the others about the news my father had given me. I had wanted to tell them as soon as possible, but no sooner had we gotten to the Pokemon Centre after leaving Violet Gym, we all changed into some nice clothes and went out for a celebratory meal. I anticipated Scott to feel awkward, even protesting at the fact they were celebrating Elliot's win, which was fundamentally his loss, but he was totally fine with it, even toasting Elliot quite happily at the meal. I even saw him crack a smile as Nikki intercepted the meal's proceedings to toast him for his achievements too. Elliot, who was perpetually modest, denied any praise sent in his direction and instead heaped it on Scott, praising the younger boy for his skills and prowess, before finally telling him that he should seriously consider challenging another League. Scott had a rare moment in which he actually opened up, telling us he still wasn't sure he was ready. Sure, he had strong Pokemon, but he was just waiting for that moment when he knew he was ready. Ready without a shadow of a doubt. His failure at the Hoenn league last year was still prominent in his mind, and it had shown him that it takes more than a strong team to win. It takes a strong trainer too. Both physically and mentally. What he said resonated with everyone around the table and it was a humbling thought.

By the time we left the restaurant, in relatively sober spirits considering it was meant to be a celebration, it was incredibly late. Everyone decided to go straight to bed,m and I realised it was probably best to leave breaking that news until the morning. However, Nikki caught me as I was coming out of the bathroom, took me aside and in a hushed voice inquired "Are you gonna tell them? About… you know?"

"Tomorrow," I said, while stifling a yawn and trying to ignore the stab of terror I felt at the sheer thought. "I don't really want to spoil today… Not with something like that, anyway."

"I suppose…" Nikki said softly. She then let out a sigh. "I really don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep tonight…what with worrying and all that…"

I reached out and pulled Nikki into a firm hug. "Listen don't you be worrying, okay?"

"I'll try not to…"

I smiled and broke off the hug. "Good. Now come on… we should go to bed. It's really late."

"Yeah. Goodnight Sienna,"

"Goodnight, Nik."

I hoped Nikki would listen to my advice to not worry, but ironically, as I lay in bed that night, I found myself thinking I couldn't blame her if she didn't. Even _I _couldn't take my own advice. I somehow fell asleep though and by the time morning came, I felt I had only closed my eyes for a few minutes before the noise of my alarm clock was invading my heavy consciousness. I heard Jasmine and Nikki also groan as the loud beeping sounded out and they both looked like they could've used a couple extra hours sleep as well…

We went down to breakfast all the same, and it was then that I finally found the courage to break the news to them. Everyone was horrifically quiet as I explained what Dad had told me, and I couldn't even accurately read their facial expressions as I told them the story. When I eventually finished explaining, Scott had a face like thunder, Bailey looked terrified, Elliot just looked horrified and Jasmine looked like she was capable of mass homicide. It took me a long time to convince them that there really was nothing we could do apart from wait and see what, if anything, developed.

With one bombshell successfully dropped, we weren't really prepared for another one when we eventually headed back up to Violet Gym with the intention of challenging Falkner for the next gym badge. The Gym was closed for renovations, the battlefield having been damaged during the tournament, and wouldn't be opened to the public for at least another few days. I was initially disappointed, but as I thought about it, I actually quite relished the idea of anything up to a week of pure freedom just to relax.

We spent the first day lounging around the Pokemon Centre and taking in the local sights. Not that there was much to see and do around Violet that we hadn't already seen, but all the same it was nice to just relax and not stress over battles and tournaments and the like. The day passed slowly and I have to admit, it was a welcome change of pace to just take things easy for a day, and as I snuggled into a warm bed that night, the prospect of a lie-in the following day seeming more and more attractive by the minute, I let out a contented sigh. Against all odds, I felt pretty okay with the direction my life was going right now…

But as always, when it comes to me, I was proven wrong…

Because that night, without any warning, the Violet City Pokemon Centre came under attack.

I was sleeping peacefully when the attack happened. An explosion that sounded like it came from right outside our door suddenly ripped across the Pokemon Centre, the impact and sound reverberating throughout the entire building. I jerked awake, suddenly not completely sure if I was dreaming or not. A shock of adrenaline hit me, and as I flew out of bed, another explosion came from outside! I turned around in fright and saw the darkened sky suddenly light up with what almost looked like fireworks! Brilliant orbs of light exploded and fizzled and cracked, bursting across my vision, almost blinding me.

"What's going on?" I heard Nikki scream in fright.

"I don't know!" I shouted back, reaching out and grabbing my Pokemon belt. "But we need to go and see!"

I sprinted out the door without a second's thought, with no idea as to whether Nikki and Jasmine were following me or not. But no sooner had I opened the door, thick black smoke hit me in a massive cloud, the foul, charcoal taste forcing its way down my throat. I coughed and retched, before covering my mouth and running straight into the black abyss. I could hear doors banging open and closed, frightened shouting and even more worrying, what sounded scarily like more explosions…

I forced my way into the main hub of the Pokemon Centre, finding it thankfully emptied of smoke. Instead, I saw the Nurse Joy that worked the night shifts, cowering in fear as her Chansey suddenly fell to the ground, taken out by a Skuntank. My eyes darted across to see a group of people huddled together. As I stood there, another person suddenly emerged from behind me, cackling maliciously, locking the door into the dorm corridors as he entered the main room. He stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw me. His Pokemon, a nasty looking Machoke was following in his wake, and it looked so vicious and menacing I immediately backed away.

My mind began calculating. There were at least six or seven trainers here. There was only one of me. The door to the corridor where all the dorm bedrooms were had been locked and bolted, and despite the frantic banging coming from the other side, it wasn't looking likely to open anytime soon… I realised with horror that releasing any kind of Pokemon wouldn't even be worth my time… I'd be overwhelmed within seconds…

I looked the trainers up and down instead. They were dressed mostly in dark clothing, reminiscent of bikers or goths. At least half wore long trenchcoats just shy of trailing the floor. On those whose arms were bare I saw gothic tattoos spiralling up into the sleeves of their tight fitting black t-shirts. They wore heavy boots with thick heels and skin-tight jeans. I saw one lone female with porcelain white skin, contrasting with dark eye-make up, her blonde hair streaked with brilliant flashes of purple and blue. She had a stylized Pokeball belt cinched around her impossibly skinny waist and her boots had spiked stiletto heels. She was clinging onto the arm of a young man. His blonde hair lay loose, almost shaggy, and completely different to the spiked formations the others wore theirs in. He too wore trenchcoat, skin-tight jeans and an intricately decorated t-shirt, but he seemed to wear this similar attire so differently to the others. He seemed so much more intimidating than the others…

"Take what you can,"

When he spoke, his voice was deceptively soft, but it still held a manner of quiet confidence and unmistakable authority. My heart plummeted. I wasn't sure who these people were, but there was a clear difference between this guy and everyone else. If these people had any sort of a leader, this guy _had _to be it.

My heart sunk further as the other trainers suddenly broke away from him and began ransacking the place. They began tearing apart bookcases, shelves, and the nurse's counter right as I stood there! I opened my mouth to protest, my hand instinctively reaching for a Pokeball.

But my efforts came too late.

The leader suddenly fixed his cold, steely eyes on me and a thin smirk spread across his face. "But first… better take care of that nosy little pest."

"What?" was all that could escape my mouth, before a sharp pain suddenly collided with my lower back. I fell forward, the ground rising up to meet me. I slammed into the floor, pain exploding through what felt like every single one of my limbs. I wanted to cry out but I couldn't! My yell caught in my throat and evaporated away. As I lay there, paralysed, darkness began to cling to my vision. A horrible familiar feeling encompassed me, and no matter how hard I tried to fight it, I couldn't. I simply couldn't and I slipped away into the blackness.

* * *

><p>The next thing I knew was pain.<p>

I let out a low groan as my eyes slowly opened and harsh light invaded my consciousness. For that moment, I had no clue where I was. All I knew was the pain and the light, nothing more. But then, I heard a voice that I only vaguely recognised shouting "she's awake, she's awake!" and a hand was clutching mine.

"Sienna? Are you okay?"

My eyes, finally adjusted to the light, suddenly seemed to be working again and I realised I was staring up at a ceiling. I turned my head, trying to ignore the bursts of pain that went with it, and saw Elliot. His face and glasses were sooty, his hair was all messed up and he had a look of complete and utter panic on his face.

"I'm… I'm fine…" I said weakly, squeezing his hand for reassurance, before trying to sit up. I finally deduced that I was lying on the Pokemon Centre floor and as I looked around, I saw the place was in a complete uproar. The floor was littered with broken glass and books and furniture had been strewn across the floor like a hurricane had ripped through the centre, the walls were black with soot, and the Nurse Joy and the injured Chansey were rushed off their feet trying to calm and console terrified young trainers. I looked around for the others, but I couldn't see them. What I did see however, were several police officers talking with some of the more composed trainers, taking notes on official looking notepads.

"What happened…?" I asked Elliot groggily.

"I have no idea…" Elliot said slowly. He was holding onto me protectively; his arms wrapped tightly around me. I instantly felt safe in his comforting embrace. "I asked the Nurse. She said that a group of people just stormed into the Pokemon Centre… they took out her Chansey and completely overwhelmed the place… They stole all the medicine. The Nurse Joy thinks they may have gotten into the Pokemon they had stored here as well…"

"Oh God…" I said slowly. "Those poor Pokemon… stolen?"

"I feel sorrier for the trainers…" Elliot said, shaking his head. "I don't think it's likely they're going to catch these guys…"

"Really?" I asked slowly.

"Yeah." Elliot said, pulling me to my feet. "These guys were pros… They've obviously done this before. No-one saw them coming. And they knew exactly how to go about this. Smokescreens to cover their tracks, closing off the trainers so they couldn't intervene, working quickly, getting in and out of here in less than ten minutes… Using the move Explosion to get a clean getaway… Yeah… these guys have done this before,"

"Oh God," I was beginning to shake. "You don't think… this could be some kind of… criminal organisation or anything? Like… like Team Quantum?"

"I hardly think we're looking at a criminal organisation of that sophistication," a voice piped up from behind me and I spun around to be faced with a police officer. "It's likely all we're dealing with here are a bunch of kids."

"Kids?" I repeated incredulously.

"Kids." He said with a defiant nod. "Annoying, pesky, kids."

"I think what happened here is a little more than just 'annoying pesky kids', officer!" I said angrily. "Look what they _did_! They destroyed the place! They _stole _stuff! They need to be caught!"

"I can assure you the Violet City Police Department will do everything it can to apprehend these criminals, miss." The officer said in a bored fashion, as if he was reciting a line from an over-rehearsed play. "But if these people are who we suspect them to be, catching them could prove difficult."

"Wait…" I said slowly. "Who you _think _they are?"

"Yes, miss. Unfortunately, Johto has lately been troubled by a gang of rogue trainers."

I hadn't even noticed Nikki, Jasmine, Bailey and Scott had come in behind us until Jasmine demanded of the officer "Rouge trainers? What's a rogue trainer when it's at home?"

"Call it an 'illegal' trainer, Jasmine." Elliot turned around to explain, cutting across the police officer. "They don't own Pokemon licences, so they're not allowed to participate in Gym Battles, Leagues, trades, contests or Elite Four challenges. Technically they're not even allowed to _battle_ their Pokemon."

The officer nodded his agreement as Elliot explained.

"Wait…" Jasmine crinkled her nose in confusion. "So… by that logic, doesn't that mean _anyone _who doesn't own a Pokemon licence technically can't own Pokemon? But what about little kids who haven't turned ten yet, but still have Pokemon? And people who keep Pokemon as pets?"

"No, they're okay," I suddenly found myself cutting in. "You don't need a licence to _keep _Pokemon. You can keep all the Pokemon you want even without Pokeballs or a license. But if you want to battle, trade or compete you need one."

"How do you know?" Jasmine asked immediately.

"Professor Oak told me," I said. "He told me when I… when I…"

My voice trailed off as I remembered the day Professor Oak had taught me about rouge trainers. It had been only a few months after my 16th birthday. I'd gone to Oak's house to return Pokemon breeding books my mother had borrowed from him and I'd ended up chatting idly with the professor for a while after running my errand. One thing had lead to another, one conversation bred another, and I had ended up asking him about Meloi, and who had owned her before I took her in, a question I had been desperate to ask since the day I became her trainer. Professor Oak had then told me a truly horrifying story about the man who had owned Meloi. The man who hadn't been able to deal with her 'spirited' nature, and had ended up beating and abusing my poor Pokemon to within an inch of her life. Even now, my blood boiled just thinking about the horrific treatment Meloi had gone through. And then Professor Oak had told me more about the man who had owned Meloi. Even showed me his picture. A man by the name of Will Brennan.

"Sienna?" Jasmine prompted me.

"Uh, sorry," I said coming down to earth with a crash. I quickly got a handle on myself, cleared my throat and continued. "Um, Professor Oak told me once when I went to visit. Turns out… well, it turns out the guy who owned Meloi before me… he's a rogue trainer too."

"Oh yeah, I remember you saying something about that." Elliot said, turning to look at me. "Will… something, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Will Brennan…"

I lapsed into a furious silence, as I always did whenever I remembered that name. I knew I had a look of abject fury on my face, and judging by the way the stumped police officer was staring at me, he was eager to move the conversation along. He cleared his throat loudly and made a big show of flipping to a new page in his notepad.

"Listen, there's not much we can do here tonight. I'd recommend everyone just goes to bed and gets rest. But you," he suddenly pointed a finger at me. "I believe you were knocked out by the people who invaded here? We'll need to take a statement."

I let out a sigh, before hitting my hands uselessly at my sides. "Fine…"

Thankfully, it took less time than I thought to give my statement. I tried to explain in as much detail as I could remember about the explosions, the smoke, how I ran from my room, a little stupidly, I had to admit in hindsight, to the police officer, feeling I was being judged as he furiously noted down everything I was saying. When it came to describing the people that were the suspected rogue trainers I had seen inside the Pokemon centre, the police officer looked a little perplexed as described their dark, gothic clothing and rough appearances. I'm pretty sure he thought I was making it up…

Eventually, after taking an inventory and discovering that yes, some Pokeballs had been stolen and after logging which trainers had had their Pokemon stolen, the police announced that there was nothing more they could do for the night. They posted a policeman on night watch just for the ease of mind of some of the more restless trainers, and eventually there was nothing more we could do apart from to go to bed.

I didn't sleep of course, and I lay awake until morning, my mind too fixated on the attack that had just happened to even attempt to drift off.

Breakfast the following morning was a sombre affair. There were a lot of reddened eyes around the various breakfast tables, and I assumed that many people had suffered through the same sleepless state I had. Both Nikki and Bailey in particular sported the same red eyes and were struggling to stifle yawns around the table. In fact, Scott seemed to be the only one not adversely affected and seemed totally unbothered by the whole proceedings.

The police came by later on in the afternoon in the middle of the massive clean-up operation. Everyone had pitched in to get the place cleaned up to save the poor solitary Nurse a job. When the police came in, they were immediately swamped by the trainers worried sick by the theft of their Pokemon. They were met with disappointment when the police informed us they had made no further developments overnight. The people they had been hunting had simply disappeared.

"People can't just disappear," Jasmine said huffily, sweeping a broom furiously across the floor to catch the few shards of broken glass still remaining. "They've got to be _somewhere_. Stupid police are totally useless."

"Not much we can do about it though," I said, while stacking books back into a bookshelf.

"Well _I _say we should go looking for them!" Jasmine said defiantly.

No sooner had she said that, I lost my grip on the stack of books I was holding and they spilled all onto the floor. I swore angrily as I began gathering them up. "Are you serious?" I demanded of Jasmine. "Do you remember the _last _time we went looking for trouble? Lavaridge? Mt Chimney? Ring any bells?"

"What happened in Lavaridge?" Bailey, who was passing by, suddenly asked.

"Never you mind!" Jasmine told him sharply, before looking back at me, Bailey guiltily moving away in the background. "Technically, Sienna, that was _your _fault. I was opposed to the idea the whole time,"

"That's why it makes even _less _sense! If you opposed what we did in Lavaridge so much and you saw how much trouble we got in _because _of that, why are you _suggesting _going looking for these guys? We'd basically be going _looking _for trouble!

"Because!" Jasmine hissed, suddenly coming closer to me. "These guys are rogue trainers, right?"

"Right…"

"And you said the guy that owned Meloi went rouge. Right?"

"Right…?"

"So…" she said, pausing as if for dramatic effect. "What do you think the odds are of this gang of rogue trainers leading you to this Will guy?"

I blinked slowly. "Jazz… there's probably hundreds of rogue trainers out there! Hundreds of _thousands _even! It's not likely he's gonna be there! I mean, God, I've heard of happy coincidences but that would be bordering on ridiculous."

"I didn't say he was going to _be _there. But they might know of him!"

"Jasmine, don't be ridiculous." I said, shaking my head. "I'm not going out looking for trouble again. Believe me; I learned my lesson two years ago."

"Chicken." She said, sticking her tongue out at me before sauntering away.

"That woman. Unbelievable." I sighed, slamming the books onto the bookshelf. I must have put more force behind the gesture than I thought as the shelf then promptly collapsed. "Oh, son of a… Really?"

Scott was sniggering at me from nearby so I shot him a glare and mouthed "shut up" before attempting to fix the shelf. I quickly deduced it was impossible. The shelf had broken into two clean bits and no amount of hopeless dithering was going to fix it. I wasn't exactly good at building things. Breaking things, yes, I could do that, but building them back up again was a totally different kettle of Magikarp. So instead I simply tucked the broken shelf behind the bookshelf, hoping to just pass it off like it had been damaged in the attack…

I had to admit though, what Jasmine had said to me had piqued my interest. Despite all my better judgement, the idea of finding Will Brennan by asking around in the rogue trainer's gang seemed like the quickest and easiest way to source him. I knew it wasn't likely, but if there was even a chance, I wanted to take it. I wanted to find Will Brennan, confront him, learn his motives and punish him for what he did to Meloi. Of course, if we could somehow get back those people's Pokemon in the process it would only make the deal sweeter. I knew just how incompetent the police could be sometimes… Especially considering it sounded like the police had already given up and dismissed this whole situation…

Of course I knew the implications of what I was considering too. It was dangerous. Horribly, horribly dangerous. I knew Elliot, Nikki and Bailey would never agree to the idea. They would be completely and utterly against it, Elliot especially. Scott probably just wouldn't care. Even though I knew this was something I shouldn't, and really _couldn't, _be considering, the thought remained stubbornly at the forefront of my mind all day and didn't diminish even when I went to bed that night.

I evidently wasn't the only one thinking this over. Jasmine tossed and turned all night. I lay still, pretending to be asleep so I wouldn't disturb her, thinking she would just drop off to sleep sooner or later. For a while, she went still and silent and I assumed she'd fallen asleep. But all of a sudden, she slipped out of bed for what I initially assumed was the bathroom. However, then I heard her rummaging around for bit, before I heard her pulling on clothes…

I snapped on the light and she gave a start. She turned around looking like a guilty child caught with her hand in the biscuit jar. "Sienna?"

"What are you doing?" I asked her, sitting up in my bed. Then a thought occurred to me. "Jazz… you're not going after those rogue trainers, are you?"

The guilty look on her face intensified if that was at all possible.

"Jasmine Moore, you are an idiot!" I hissed, pushing the covers back and slipping out of bed. "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"They're… they're stealing Pokemon, Sienna," she appealed, looking at me with wide eyes.

"I know!" I said in mild exasperation. "But Jazz, there's nothing you or I can do about that. You have to shut up, sit down and let the police handle it."

Jasmine turned away. "The police won't _do _anything…"

"What?" I said slowly. "And how do you know that?"

She said nothing.

"Jazz! Talk to me." I demanded. "Tell me why you're even _considering _this!"

"I just… I just can't sit by while these poor people have their Pokemon stolen!"

I stared at Jasmine's back dumbfounded for a few moments. This was highly uncharacteristic of Jasmine. While Jasmine wasn't an _inherently _selfish person (she was one of the kindest people I knew); there was no denying she _had _that selfish streak in her. And considering her brash nature, she was one of the most cautious people I knew! That time in Lavaridge when we had heard rumours of trainers disappearing around Mt Chimney, Jasmine had been adamant we not go investigate because it would be too dangerous! And now she was practically running off by herself in the middle of the night to go after a band of likely _psychotic _rogue trainers! And all for the sake of finding Pokemon for people she hadn't even _met _before.

"Why, Jazz? Why do you care so much?"

"Because…"

"Because…?" I prompted when she fell silent.

"Because I know what it's like to get my Pokemon stolen from me…"

I sat there dumbfounded for a few seconds. "_What?_"

"Look, can't we talk outside?" she said, turning around to face me, looking slightly uncomfortable. "We'll wake Nikki."

"Nikki? Please. Once she's out, she'll sleep through anything," I joked.

But the hardened look in Jasmine's eye made it clear this was _not _up for discussion.

I chuckled nervously, and slipped out of bed obediently. I began pulling on a pair of jeans and a hooded top over my pyjamas and shoved on some shoes whilst Jasmine did the same. We dressed in record time, and just before we left I grabbed my bag and Pokeballs as I always did. I carefully turned out the light, leaving a slumbering Nikki still in bed and none the wiser. We slipped out, and I barely even waited for Jasmine to close the door before I began asking questions.

"Jasmine, what did you mean? You know… when you said you knew what it was like to get Pokemon stolen from you?"

"Jeez, Sienna, let me lock the door first," Jasmine retorted snippily, firmly locking the door and shooting me a glare. She stowed the key away in her pocket and then turned around to look at me, this time with a softer expression. "I mean I've had my Pokemon stolen before…"

"When? How?"

"The same year I left on my Pokemon journey," Jasmine said with a shrug. "You remember me telling you how after I finally convinced my mum and dad to let me go on a Pokemon journey, my father bought me Skittle, Sulphur and Mizu?"

"Yeah…" I nodded.

"Well, you can imagine that having rare Johto and Hoenn Pokemon in Kanto, particularly considering the fact I was still at _school _back then, made me somewhat of a target…"

"Oh…" I said slowly.

"And I'll admit, back when I was younger, I was kinda careless… Innocent too. I honestly didn't believe people would _do _that sort of thing. I didn't believe people would _steal _Pokemon…"

"But they did…?"

"Yeah. They went into my schoolbag and took Skittle and Sulphur's Pokeballs."

"Oh my God… but they found who did it, right?"

"Obviously," Jasmine said with a cocked eyebrow. "But it took them a long time. So long that it delayed me going out on my journey. I've never seen dad so angry with me then when I lost those Pokemon… I thought he'd forbid me going completely… He kept telling me that if I couldn't even keep my Pokemon safe at school that I'd never last two minutes out in the real world."

"So, how did you get them back? The police?"

Jasmine scoffed. "The police did practically nothing. So I took matters into my own hands."

"What did you do?"

Jasmine shrugged. "I did what anyone else would do. I took some of dad's money without him knowing and hired a private detective to find out who took them."

I blinked. "You did _what_?"

"Yep." Jasmine nodded, as if it were nothing. "And then when I found out who took them, I paid a local trainer who was _really _strong to be my partner in a double battle with the person who took my Pokeballs. The prize was obviously getting my Pokemon back. And of course, I won. And I got my Pokemon back."

My head was swimming. "I… I see…"

"I know I'm not gonna get those other people's Pokemon back by paying people off, of course I know that. But I'd like to think I could do _something_. I'm not a bad trainer now. Certainly not as bad as I _used _to be. I want to do something to help those people…"

"You can't go after them on your own."

"Who says?"

"Jazz, they're _rogue _trainers. They're really tough! You saw what they did to the Pokemon Centre!"

"I'm not scared of them."

"Jazz, they'rerouge trainers!" I repeated, hoping for it to finally sink in for her. "They're not _like _regular trainers! They're illegal trainers! They probably carry loads of Pokemon on them! Really really strong Pokemon! And what's worse, there's six of them and one of you! They'd rip you to shreds before you could even give an order. Jazz, I'm begging you, see sense!"

We were sitting in the Pokemon Centre lobby now. The place was deserted apart from the Chansey nurse minding the desk, and deathly silent apart from the low hum of the equipment and computers. It was dark too. Many of the lights had been damaged in the previous day's attack, and the Centre was running on basically just one overhead light and the faint illumination from the moon outside. There was a peculiar atmosphere too. Tense. I shifted uncomfortably in the chair I was sitting on. For some reason, I felt on edge.

Jasmine looked to be deep in thought. "I guess… I guess when you put it that way…"

"It's madness, Jazz." I told her firmly. "You're just asking to get yourself hurt or killed."

"I still don't like just sitting around and not being able to do anything."

"Believe me, I know how you feel." I said emphatically. "But that's just how life is sometimes. Even if we try our hardest, sometimes… there isn't much we can do. We just have to sit back and let the police handle it. There's nothing we can do apart from to hope it all works out somehow."

"Mm," Jasmine said noncommittally, before stretching and yawning noisily. "Hey… you fancy going for a walk? It's too… stuffy in here… I hate looking at the same four walls all the time."

"Sure," I said, heaving myself off the seat. I was quite eager to get out of the tense, stuffy atmosphere myself, and I welcomed Jasmine's suggestion.

We left the Pokemon Centre and stepped out into the cool night air. Jasmine breathed in sharply as the cold air hit her and I glanced at her, suddenly concerned. She smiled in a reassuring manner and we began walking in an easy, comfortable silence. I followed her lead happily. She seemed to know where she wanted to go. As I walked, I took in my surroundings. I always liked cities at night. I think I preferred them at night actually. Violet City was no exception. The whole city seemed to be caught in a perpetual stillness. There was no-one around. Even the roads were empty. It was silent too. Deathly silent. I couldn't even hear any Pokemon. The only lights were far off in the distance. It was like time had stood still… It was so mysterious and enigmatic that it had me enthralled, my imagination captured, and my breath taken away.

We'd only been walking for a short time when we caught sight of the local Pokemon Mart. Most Pokemon Marts, particularly those in big cities or in faraway towns, stayed open till late in case of emergencies and in case trainers needed to get specific items quickly. The one in Violet was no exception. According to the sign on the window, this particular one stayed open till 2AM. Pretty late by Pokemart standards. I checked my watch out of curiosity. It was quarter past three in the morning. Way past this Pokemart's closing time. But as we walked, even in the inky darkness, I couldn't fail to make out the outlines of people milling around the Pokemart door.

"Oh no, they're too late. The Mart's closed," I said slowly as we both took a seat on a bench nearby. "I hope it's not an emergency or something…"

"But…" Jasmine said slowly as the people stayed where they were even after a good five minutes had passed. "Why aren't they going away…? If the mart's closed, why aren't they just leaving?"

I didn't get a chance to answer as no sooner had she said that, the soft, yet unmistakable noise of glass breaking sounded out into the darkness.

"You cut the power?" I heard a male voice say. It was soft, incredibly difficult to make out from so far away.

"Alarm's totally disabled," another voice said gleefully.

"Good work. How long we got before it resets?"

"Seven minutes."

"Well, what are you waiting for, boys?" a woman's voice, smooth and sultry. "Get in there and clean it out.

"You heard the lady," the first male voice came again. "Take what you can. And be quick about it."

And with that, the people surrounding the Pokemon mart began to gradually disappear.

Jasmine suddenly grabbed my arm. Her nails dug into my arm even through the thick fleece of my hooded jumper. "Those people are robbing the Pokemon mart!"

"I know!" I hissed back.

"We have to stop them!"

"I know that too…" I said, grabbing a Pokeball. "You ready?"

"Of course!" Jasmine said, also seizing a Pokeball. "Let's do this!"

The two of us snuck forward, Pokeballs raised, ready to throw them and hopefully engage in battle at a moments notice. But as we stealthily crept forward, a strange silence descended around us, and by the time we reached the Pokemon Mart, the people had totally disappeared. As we peered inside the Pokemon mart through the single broken window the people had smashed, the entire of the inside of the shop was dark. Totally deserted. There wasn't a sound coming from anywhere. It was like the people from before had simply melted away into the night from whence they came.

Confusion hit me like a ton of bricks. "_What…? What the hell is going on?_"

"Where did they go?" Jasmine whispered.

"I… don't know…" I admitted, lowering my Pokeball.

But then, I heard footsteps behind me. A shot of panic struck me, and before I could turn around, a voice rang out. "Well, well, well…"

I pivoted on my heel and came face-to-face with a figure. At first, I could only see the vague silhouette of said figure, but it was a slim physique. Undoubtedly female. As we stood there, briefly stunned, a Pokeball dropped to the ground, revealing a Rapidash. With a high-pitched whinny and an angered snort, its blazing mane lit up the surroundings, illuminating the woman standing before us in a brilliant orange light.

We saw dark, gothic clothing, blonde hair streaked with varying shades blues and purples, spiked stiletto shoes, and an impossibly skinny figure. My heart sunk. I knew this woman! She turned her eyes, framed thickly with eyeliner, on us and her lips, coloured with purple lipstick, stretched into a thin smile. "What _do _we have here?"

"That's one of the rogue trainers!" I hissed in fright, backing away frantically.

"You two shouldn't be here," she said, taking a slow deliberate step forward, her heels clacking loudly on the paved stone. It sounded like a gunshot in the deathly silence. "I suggest you leave now, forget anything you saw here… in case something untoward happens to you."

In all honesty, in a shock of complete cowardice, I would have been quite happy to listen to the woman and run off. But Jasmine had a different idea and she shook her head in sheer defiance of the woman. "We're not leaving," Jasmine said firmly, also taking a step forward. "Not until you return everything you've stolen."

"Stolen? Me?" the girl laughed. "Please. _I _haven't stolen anything. I leave _that _to the other idiots. You think I would incriminate myself like that?"

"I don't care _who _stole them!" Jasmine burst out. "Just give the Pokemon back!"

"Forget it, sister." The girl's eyes narrowed into thin slits. "Look, I'm giving you one more chance to get out of here. I suggest you take it."

"I'm not leaving,"

The girl scoffed. "You're a fool." she said, her voice dangerously low. "I guess all that remains is for me to make _sure_ you forget everything you've just seen. Rapidash! Take them out!"

"No!" I cried out in fright.

What happened next passed in what felt like one mad, unbelievable blur. First, there was a blaze of unbearable heat; flames dancing across my vision, searing hot and crackling like fireworks. Someone screamed. I'm not sure if it was me or not. I threw my arms up instinctively over my face as I felt flames licking at my body. Suddenly force collided heavily with my lower stomach and I went sprawling on my back, hitting my head hard against something solid. My vision began blackening and blotting, fading in and out, as I lay there dizzy as the night sky was lit up with wheels of flame and frightened cries.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**This one turned out a lot longer than I expected O_o**

**Well, this is the penultimate arc before I introduce the plot and begin bringing the fic to a climax and an eventual cose. This arc will stand at probably three to four chapters. **

**Thanks to my reviewers Shadow of Eckhart, twisted diction, WarriorSwift, The Neverending Meep and ArchXDeath**

**Until next time! And please do leave a review :D**


	32. Confronting the Past Part I

"Sienna! Get up!"

As I lay there, stunned and wracked with pain, a wave of water splashed over me, bringing me straight to my senses. As the freezing cold spread through my paralysed limbs, a shot of adrenaline hit me and I scrambled to my feet, my hand reaching straight for my Pokeballs. I threw the first Pokeball my fingers touched upon with as much force as I could muster.

Jasmine's Azumarill, Mizu, was locked in battle with the strange girl's Rapidash, the two Pokemon exchanging blasts of fire and torrents of water so I quickly ordered Indigo in to attack. Indigo executed a Confusion that stalled the Rapidash, catching it off guard and making it neigh and whinny in indignation. This let Jasmine's Azumarill sweep it with a Water Gun. It admittedly wasn't a massively powerful attack in itself, but it did the trick, seeming to damage the fire horse enough to make it cry out in pain.

I expected the strange woman to continue battling, but she raised a Pokeball, recalling the Rapidash. I stood there in disbelief, glancing at Indigo and Jasmine in sheer confusion. What was this woman doing? Why would she just recall her Pokemon, leaving her vulnerable to attack?

"What?" Jasmine asked cockily, a grin spreading across her face as she and Mizu advanced on the girl. "What? You scared now? Hah! What happened to all that self-confidence you had earlier?"

"Jasmine…" I said as warningly as I could.

The girl was backing away slowly, but there was a look of quiet, assured confidence on the woman's face. "I don't need self-confidence."

I saw her smile. My heart sunk.

"You want to know why?"

I realised what was going to happen before it even did. I wanted to scream out "No!" and warn Jasmine somehow but I didn't get the chance. A strong hand suddenly clamped around my mouth, someone hit me across the small of my back, and then another force collided with my lower legs. I fell forward without a sound. I slumped to the ground, winded and still in the arms of whatever captor had me in his clutches. I forced my head up against the hold of my captor just in time to see a shadowy figure approach Jasmine. My heart sunk and I tried to call out, but I couldn't. Moments later, I heard a _thud _and she crumpled to the ground.

My body was so weak that I couldn't fight against my captor. I could hear someone shouting in a commanding, army general-esque fashion, and then next thing I knew, a strange feeling encompassed me. My body suddenly felt weightless. But I still had feeling in all my limbs, a peculiar tingling, like a mild pins and needles crackling painlessly over them. It felt oddly familiar to when Alakazam had used teleport on me two years ago. I was so confused and scared by the whole proceeding that my thoughts jumbled together and became completely incomprehensible. To add to my panic, all of a sudden, something was thrown over my head and my entire world went black. People were talking above me in hushed voices and my body still felt unresponsive, totally alien to me, like I was merely a conscious floating in midair.

I had no concept of time, so the strange feeling of floating seeming like it went on forever, but at the same time, felt like only a few short minutes had passed. Eventually, I heard someone say "Enough!" and the feeling left me, before I, very literally, came down to the earth with a crash. My entire body stung with pain, but seconds later whatever was on my head was whipped off and my vision returned to me.

It took my eyes a few moments to adjust. Details were hazy at first before my head cleared and I was able to take in my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was that I was lying on a wooden floor, a collection of boxes to my right. It was dark, most of the things around me nothing more than misshapen, darkened blobs. The atmosphere was musty, heavy with dust particles and seemed stagnant, like it was in need of a good gust of fresh air. I wriggled my body experimentally. I could still barely move. I cursed inwardly. Getting up seemed next to impossible right now, so any chance of escape was slim to say the least. I heard a low mumble next to me, but before I could get a chance to look the noise of heeled shoes against the wooden floors distracted me. I glanced upwards, and saw the figures of the girl from earlier and two other men standing next to her. My heart began thudding in my chest. These people… these were the rogue trainers…

"I think you overdid it on the Disable and Psychic attacks," the woman was saying. "Look at that one. She's barely awake. And the Azumarill… that thing won't be waking up for a while."

"I thought that was what you wanted?" a second voice retorted, this one sounding agitated.

"Incapacitate, yes. Knock out senselessly, no." the woman said angrily.

My head was still swimming with confusing, unbelievable thoughts that I couldn't sort coherently as the trainers above me argued. As my body slowly began working again, I turned my head to the side.

My heart stopped. There was a body there.

It was Jasmine.

"Jazz!" I hissed, panicked, but my voice came out in a hoarse rasp.

She let out a soft murmur, stirred slightly and I managed to relax a little bit. She was alive, thank Arceus, but she looked even more out of it than I was.

"I still don't know why we brought them here." One voice was saying, sounding exacerbated. "We would have been so much better leaving them where we found them."

"These ones are strong. If they can be convinced, they'll be a great asset to us."

I heard a soft whinny at this point and as I weakly turned my head in the direction of it, I saw Indigo kneeling down in front of me. She butted her head into my arm, but my body was still so weak that I couldn't even raise my hand to reassure her that I was okay. I murmured "it's okay," as softly as I could instead, hoping it would be enough to settle her. I entertained the notion of trying to get Indigo to attack, but the sensible part of my brain told me that was a very bad idea. There were three of them that I could see at least and who knows however many more hiding outside of my vision. I knew the girl had Pokemon, so that meant it was likely the other two had Pokemon as well. Even if I could somehow overpower them, I could barely move! So that made escape impossible…

Trying to shake some feeling back into my limbs, I started twitching them. They finally became responsive, but as I pushed myself slowly onto my hands and knees, I suddenly felt force collide with my shoulders again! I cried out in shock as I plummeted forward, smashing my head off the floor. As I lay there stunned, I heard Indigo snort indignantly and whinny. Followed by the unmistakable sound of her trying to attack!

"Indigo, no!" I tried to protest.

But my senses were overridden by the unmistakable noise of a Pokeball opening. Then I heard the shriek of a Pokemon that I didn't recognise. Next thing I knew, a crash echoed throughout the tiny room. I forced my head up, trying to ignore the searing pain, and saw Indigo in a heap, a Pokemon I had never seen before standing over her. The feline Pokemon was long and slender, primarily a vibrant purple in colour, with yellow tipped legs, yellow whiskers and a long, curling tail. The Pokemon was glaring at Indigo, crumpled in a heap, its curled tail swishing back and forth impatiently.

"Indigo!" I rasped.

"Your Pokemon will be fine," the girl's harsh voice sounded above me. My body was still so frustratingly weak that I couldn't get up, and once again, all I could see were the pointed tips of her black stiletto shoes. "So long as she won't try and attack again."

"She…won't…" I wheezed.

"Good." The girl said. "Now how about you tell me why you were sneaking about this late at night? And _why _you confronted us?"

I had to think about this very very carefully before I dared give an answer. "We were out on a walk," I said evasively.

"A walk?" she said incredulously. "At three in the morning?"

"We couldn't sleep." I said as bluntly as I could. "At least we weren't out robbing Pokemon Marts and attacking Pokemon Centres."

"Shut up," the girl said cruelly, sinking the toe of her stiletto boot into my side, making me cry out in pain. "You might also want to explain what makes you think you and your little friend have the right to take back what we took?"

I coughed viciously, writhing in pain, before demanding "What makes _you _think you can just steal and loot things that don't belong to you?"

"We're not petty criminals, you know?" the girl said with an almost offhand shrug. "Most of us would like to think we were above stealing."

"Yet, you still did it?"

"You do what you need to do," she said with another shrug. "We're rogue trainers. We're not exactly able to stroll into marts and department stores and buy our things like normal people. We're blacklisted. It's not as if we can blend into the background either," she swept a hand up and down her gothic attire. "We draw attention to ourselves. And drawing attention to ourselves can be dangerous."

"Okay, okay, I can almost understand why you need to steal supplies," I said, mentally kicking myself for saying so. "But Pokemon? You stole Pokemon! You're not Team Rocket, why do you steal Pokemon?"

"Cheap thrill," she said with a shrug. "Like I said, rogue trainers can't risk drawing attention to themselves. We have to hide a lot. And hiding a lot, keeping a low profile means we get bored easily. So, when we reach a big town, we can't resist a little… fun." She said the word almost hungrily, like she relished the very idea.

"How dare you?" I snarled. "You steal Pokemon, you steal peoples' precious _friends_ and for what? A cheap thrill? That's disgusting!"

"That's the way of rogue trainers," the girl snapped, her voice noticeably hardening. "It's not an easy life, you know?"

"You chose it!" I snapped. "You didn't have to be a rogue trainer! Going around in bands, terrorising towns and cities, being _hated _no matter where you go… is that really what you want?"

"It's better than the alternative!"

My body was finally beginning to listen to me and I was able to push myself very shakily to my feet. This girl had a look of fury on her face and she was an intimidating force, there was no doubt about that, but for some reason I found I wasn't scared of her.

"You can't even battle properly, trade, compete…" I said slowly. "What kind of a life is that? You're not even _recognised _as a proper Pokemon trainer. What's the point in even training Pokemon if you can't do all those things that Pokemon training is really _about_?"

"You think you know everything, but you really don't!" The girl suddenly stepped forward, the sound of her high heels making an alarmingly loud _clack _on the wooden floor. "This is my life! This is the way things are. And I like the way things are!"

"Charlee."

A voice that permeated the tense air made me jump and I twisted around to see another figure standing at the edge of the tiny room. The girl stopped right in her tracks. A look of guilt had taken over her face and her solid and confident stance had turned limp. She looked at me, and then looked back at the figure. "Wh…what?" she asked, glancing away and looking sheepish.

"You're getting yourself wound up. By a stranger, no less."

The sound of heavy approaching footfalls made me feel inexplicably nervous. As the figure came into the light, I realised in horror that it was the man I had seen in the Pokemon Centre. I recognised him instantly by his long shaggy blonde hair, steely grey eyes and powerful square jaw. The air of confidence he carried himself with settled it once again in my mind. Whoever this guy was, he was most definitely the person in charge.

But even though I didn't know who the guy was, at least I now knew the name of the woman. "_Charlee…_" I thought to myself as I looked the young woman up and down. I breathed a sigh of relief. For one mad moment, I had thought this woman could have been Helene…

Charlee was saying nothing as the young man approached her, slowly, deliberately, as if he was savouring the guilty look that seemed to intensify on her face with every step. He reached out a gloved hand to touch her pale cheek, a thin smile tugging at his lips. "This is the first time I've seen you so… animated… when a stranger questions you. Struck a nerve, did she?"

"No!" Charlee snapped.

The boy's thick eyebrow twitched slightly. "Charlee," he said, winding a lock of her thick blonde hair around his gloved finger. "Don't tell me you're not happy… Not happy here with me…?"

"I am happy," she said, yanking her hair from the boy's fingers. "Don't do that, you know I hate it." She added softly, before turning an accusing eye onto me. "I _am_ happy," she reiterated. "But I would be even happier if that nosy bitch kept _out _of my business."

The man turned to look at me now. He had a hard stare that instinctively made me flinch just as soon as he looked at. As I watched him intently, I had a sudden thought. I had a strange inkling that I had seen him before…

"Why are they even here?" he asked.

"Well I initially thought they could be valuable assets if we could make them join us." Charlee replied icily, glaring at me. "Now, I'm not so sure."

The man tutted angrily. "What a foolish idea," he said. "They're both too fiery. Do-gooders, to boot. No." he said, with a decisive shake of his head. "It was a bad idea to bring them here. They know who we are now. It's not safe to stay in Violet City anymore."

"But we just got here!" a voice said angrily.

"Does it matter?" the man in charge retorted. "We're not safe in Violet. We're not even safe in Johto anymore, not so long as she knows who and where we are."

I swallowed. This didn't look good...

"So, what do you propose we do?"

The man never got a chance to answer, as Jasmine then began stirring. Everything descended into silence as she began murmuring and shifting slightly. When she finally shook herself into her senses, she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and lifted her head. But no sooner had she done so, I saw her eyes bulge in horror.

"Jasmine, stay where you are!" I warned her immediately before she could react. "Don't try anything. We're outnumbered."

I could hear Jasmine muttering something vehemently under her breath, but thankfully she stayed crouched in the same position. She did however look up and glare at the young man and Charlee, looking as if she would dearly love to murder them slowly and in the most violent way possible.

"You won't get away with this, you know?" she snarled. "Sooner or later our friends will realise we're missing and will come looking for us!"

"Oh yeah? Please! Your little friends won't even get the _chance_!" Charlee spat.

"Charlee, Charlee, please. Temper." The man said, putting his hand up, silencing Charlee instantly. He then slowly turned back to look at us. "On the contrary, we've already gotten away with this. We're leaving. Right now. And you won't stop us."

"You watch me!" Jasmine suddenly cried, jumping to her feet and grabbing a Pokeball.

"Jasmine! Don't!" I cried out in panic.

But before she could even do anything, before I could even react and try and stop her, a trainer behind Charlee and the other man suddenly let out a call. "Liepard!"

The purple feline Pokemon that had attacked Indigo suddenly leapt to attention, darting straight in front of Jasmine, growling viciously. Jasmine stopped straight in her tracks, shrieking in fright.

The other trainers were laughing as Jasmine backed off hastily. Charlee in particular seemed to be taking glee in Jasmine's fright and began taunting her.

"I told you that wasn't a good idea!"

"Shut up, you little bitch!" Jasmine spat, as the Liepard advanced on her, growling throatily.

"You watch your mouth!" Charlee spat.

"Hey, hey," the young man intercepted smoothly, flicking a stray strand of his shaggy blonde hair from his face. "There's no need to get so angered, Charlee."

Charlee glared at the young man. "You're one to talk!"

A dangerous look suddenly spread across the young man's face. His lips curled into a deep set frown and his eyes flashed with something that frightened me to my very core. "Enough." He said icily.

Charlee grumbled slightly, looking viciously annoyed at being scolded, but she said nothing. However the look of badly concealed thunder on her face however was more revealing than anything she could have said.

The young man took a step forward towards Jasmine and I, and I instinctively flinched away. He stopped, a smug smile spreading over his face as he noticed this. My rage burned. The sheer delight on his face made my skin crawl with repulsion. I didn't like this guy. I hadn't liked him from the moment I saw him, but now, I just hated him, pure and simple. I wanted to punch him on his smug square jaw. His cold, steely grey eyes touched on me and once again I felt my fists ache with the desire to forget everything I knew about Pokemon battling and just take this guy down with my bare hands.

I hated this man. I just wish I knew _why. _

And why I had the strangest suspicion that I had seen him before…

"Well, we have a problem now. What are we gonna _do_ with them?" Charlee suddenly asked, jerking her head in our direction.

"Easy." The man said with a shrug, pulling a Pokeball, patterned with strange intricate dark purple and black markings. "We take them out, leave no trace we were here, get out and get back underground."

"Underground?" Charlee said indignantly. "No…" she said, shaking her head. "No! No! No!" she cried, punctuating every 'no' with a vicious stamp of her foot. "I do _not _want to go underground again!"

The man said nothing.

"Are you listening to me? I said I didn't want to go underground again!"

He still remained silent.

"Hey! Will! Are you listening to me?"

At that point, with just that one little word, it was like the world fell apart.

"_Will_?"

My stomach suddenly twisted violently and my heart plummeted. All of a sudden it was making sense. I _knew _there had to have been a reason that that man made my skin crawl just to merely look at him, and here it was.

"Will…" I said slowly. "Not… not Will Brennan…?"

The place suddenly descended into silence. No-one spoke. But the open-mouthed gawping expression touching on Charlee's face and the faces of the others told me I had it right on the money. For a moment, I didn't know what to do. I stood there, completely and utterly in disbelief. This didn't feel real. Part of me didn't want it to be real.

And then my rage began burning. I understood. I understood now. Without even knowing it, I had been staring at the very man who used to own Meloi. The very man who had beaten my poor Pokemon, my best friend, to within an inch of her life.

I raised my head slowly to fixate myself solely on Will. "Answer me! You're Will Brennan, aren't you?"

"How does she know…?" I could hear Charlee say in a panicked voice. "Dammit, Will! I thought we were keeping a lower profile! Keeping out of the news, keeping out of the public eye… How has she heard of you?"

"Don't flatter yourselves, I haven't _heard _of him." I snapped, before looking back at Will. "Will! My name is Sienna Volbeda! And I'm a trainer from Pallet Town."

"Pallet Town…" he murmured.

"Isn't that where you're from?" Charlee asked slowly.

"Indeed," Will said with a nod. "So, tell me, Sienna Volbeda from Pallet Town… why don't you tell me how exactly it is you came to know about me?"

I opened my mouth, ready to spill out the entire story, but instead, my hand was instinctively drawn to my Pokemon belt. As my fingers touched the familiar cool metal of the familiar Pokeball, I seized it, unhooking it in one fluent movement. "Why don't I let _this _do the explaining?"

I threw it forward with as much force as I could muster. The Pokeball exploded in a burst of white light and Meloi came flying out. For a moment, nothing happened as she shook herself into her senses. However, a few seconds later, it was like a bomb went off. There was an explosion of electricity that shook the entire of the tiny building and then Meloi began growling. Deep, throaty, antagonised growling were coupled with crackling bolts of electricity and as she approached Will Brennan, she seemed so scary and intimidating that even _I _was a little frightened.

I stood by her side, placed a hand on her paw and shushed her. She quietened and calmed down, dispelling the bolts of electricity after a little encouragement. But even when she stilled, I could sense her anger, a dominating force, crackling and spitting like the very electricity she manipulated. I looked up at Will Brennan once again, trying to accurately read his facial expressions. Currently, he had a blank face.

I growled to myself. He still didn't know. He still hadn't realised.

"Will Brennan… I want you to meet Meloi, my Ampharos."

"An impressive specimen, I'll admit." He said. "Looks like it could be quite powerful too. But I fail to see what his has to do with _me_."

"You will." I said, fixing my eyes firmly on him. "I got Meloi as a Mareep two years ago from Professor Oak. A frightened, angry little Mareep who had been abandoned and been trainer-less for years. You want to know why? Because that little Mareep had been horribly abused by its trainer! So much so that she attacked anyone who even came near her! She was so bad that no-one wanted to take her on!"

Will Brennan was saying nothing.

"Believe me, it was difficult gaining her trust. She was disobedient, yes! She didn't trust easily. She made my life a living hell when I got her! But I stuck with it! I persevered! And you know what? She got better! And we became friends! You know why? Cos I gave her a chance and didn't give up on her! Unlike her previous trainer..."

Will Brennan was still silent, but there was a distinctly uncomfortable look on his face now.

"Will Brennan… this is Meloi. My Ampharos. And she's also the Pokemon you _abandoned_. The Pokemon you _beat _to within an inch of her life because you didn't like her attitude!" My hands were fiercely clenched and Meloi had begun growling again, electricity crackling in the air around us like the static from a thunderstorm. "How dare you? How dare you beat and abuse an innocent Pokemon? How dare you give up on her and just toss her aside like she was nothing? You'll pay for this, Will Brennan, you will _pay _for this!"

I stepped forward, but all of a sudden, Will held up his hand. He spoke coldly. "And how do you intend to make me 'pay' for this? What will you do? Inflict all the pain on me that I gave to that little Mareep? What good will that do? Surely by doing that, you'll be just as much in the wrong as I was?"

"You're not even sorry, are you?" I demanded.

"Did I say that?" he said icily. "All I'm saying is that your logic is backwards. You want to make me pay for what I did to that Mareep? You want to inflict all the pain on me that I did on her? Well what will that make you? By your own logic, that makes you no better than me."

I flinched. "Wha—?"

"Sienna, don't listen to him," I heard Jasmine say. "He's just trying to get in your head!"

"Mind games or not, look at the facts." Will said stonily. "There are two of you. And six Pokemon each, right?"

I found myself nodding.

"Well, there are six rogue trainers here, seven including me. And we don't carry six Pokemon. We carry seven, eight, even nine. So what, that's…? On average… fifty six Pokemon against your… what…? Twelve?"

I grimaced, wanting to scream in frustration. As much as I hated to admit it, Will was right. There was no way Jasmine and I could even _hope _to stand against these people. My fists clenched tightly and rage began bubbling madly. It wasn't fair! This wasn't fair at all! Beside me, Meloi was still growling viciously, electricity crashing around her, but I had no choice but to tell her to stop. She growled, looking highly affronted, but I repeated my instruction and she eventually calmed down. She was still glaring at Will however.

"Good," Will said coldly as I told Meloi to step down. "I'm glad you see how futile that operation would be." He suddenly began stepping forward, slowly, each step careful and deliberate. "Now I'm going to tell you what's going to happen. I'm going to knock you, and your Pokemon out. It'll be as painless as possible. And then, we're going to leave. And you'll never see us again. Got it?"

"Knock us out?" Jasmine asked shrilly.

"Yes. And by the time you wake up, we'll be long gone." Will said with a short smile.

"_No…_" I thought. "_No, no, no, no, no! I've waited too long for this opportunity! I can't let him just get away from me_!"

Will knocked a Pokeball from his belt and tossed it into the air, revealing a Pokemon that looked nothing more than a swirling purple vortex with a green zigzag mouth and green eyes. It looked truly malevolent and macabre, oozing an aura of sheer nastiness. It was almost nightmarish and I found myself flinching away from it.

"Spiritomb…?" Charlee said, shooting Will a glare. "I would've thought you'd be doing this with more of a… bang. As is your usual fashion."

"I don't want to attract needless attention." Will said coolly.

Charlee grimaced, but didn't say anything. I could barely focus on what was going on anymore. My whole body was trembling and shaking violently and I could barely stay still, hot anger coursing through my veins.

"Spiritomb…"

"_No…_"

"Use Hypnosis—"

"_No…!"_

"On those girls!"

"NO!" I suddenly screamed out. "Meloi, Thunder Wave!"

Meloi snapped into action straight away, letting loose a torrent of weak bolts of blue electricity that burst out, trapping Will, Charlee, the Spiritomb and the Liepard in its tracks. But no sooner had Meloi executed the attack, the other trainers that had been surrounding us suddenly swooped in, and I found myself restrained within seconds, in the arms of a massively brutish young man. I fought uselessly, heard Meloi's screams of pain, and I whipped my head up just in time to see a furious Will Brennan limping towards me.

As I stared at him, my mind swam with horrible thoughts. This was him. This was the man who had done those horrible things to Meloi. My poor Meloi, who had had no way to defend herself. All of a sudden, something snapped. I tried once more to break free, wanting nothing more than to throw myself bodily at Will Brennan, but the grip of the brutish trainer held me back. I flailed uselessly, completely restrained. I felt hot tears prick at my eyes before they burst out, rolling down my face. Before I knew what I was doing, I was screaming.

"I'll battle you, Will Brennan! Right here and now, I'll battle you! God help me, I'll prove you wrong! I'll prove to you Meloi was worth more than you thought she was! And … and I'll make you pay… Goddammit, I will make you pay… I'll make you pay…"

My body was growing weak from my outburst. My knees were shaking and I felt my whole body trembling. My breath came in short sharp gasps and I found myself staring at the floor. My body felt like it simply wanted to give up and slump down.

A voice punctuated my hazy consciousness. "You'll… battle… me?"

I raised my head slowly, feeling more angry tears form. At the same time, I felt a shock of renewed determination. I bit back my tears. "Yes." I said softly. Then again, louder. "Yes! Yes, I will battle you!"

"But you said it yourself, rogue trainers aren't _meant _to battle."

"I don't care. I'll still battle you."

Will Brennan folded his arms. "You know that we aren't limited to carrying just six Pokemon?"

"I know!"

"You know this, but you still want to battle me?"

"Yes!"

"Why?" he demanded.

"Are you deaf?" I screamed, my agitation finally growing too much for me. "I want to prove to you that you made a mistake abandoning Meloi."

"That's it?"

I trembled. "Yeah. That's it."

"That's a very selfish reason to want to battle me."

"I know that too…" I said, inclining my head, feeling the tears rolling down my cheeks again. I couldn't even free my hand to wipe my face. "But I don't care."

"You're not seriously considering this, Will?" Charlee sneered from nearby. "It's a stupid vendetta battle. It means nothing."

But the look on Will's face was clear that he _was _considering it. He turned his steely eyes on the people restraining me. "Let her go." He ordered.

"What?" I heard one of the men restraining me say in outrage.

"I said, let her go." He repeated, his voice stony.

I felt their grips slowly slacken and then I was released.

"Move away from her."

The trainers stepped away obediently.

"Will, you can't be serious!" Charlee suddenly intercepted, furious. "This is ridiculous! Whatever happened to getting away? If we hang around here any longer we'll get caught! Why are you doing this?"

"Call it a curiosity." Will said with a shrug. He then looked down at Meloi, who had been tackled to the ground by the Liepard. His eyes then touched on the figures of Mizu and Indigo, who were also still injured. I then saw him stare at Jasmine. "Give the Pokemon medicine. The Ampharos, the Girafarig _and _the Azumarill."

"What?" I said, my eyebrows creasing.

"It wouldn't be a battle if your Pokemon weren't at their best, would it?" He asked, as the trainers reluctantly did as they were told, spraying the three injured Pokemon with what looked like Super Potion.

"Why are you healing _her _Pokemon?" Charlee demanded as Mizu was healed.

"Evening the playing fields," Will said coolly, before turning to her. "I was thinking, since you seem to care so much about this issue that you would assist me in battling. And that you," he turned looking at Jasmine. "…would assist your friend."

"Gladly!" Jasmine said, clenching her fist.

"Will, this has nothing to do with me." Charlee said bluntly. "Why would _I _help out when it's clearly _you _she has the issue with?"

"Oh, I don't know." Will said with an airy shrug. "They say two heads are better than one, after all."

"Don't give me that."

"Well you're the one who seems so keen to get this over with and make our escape. Surely you'd like to assist to make this go as smoothly and quickly as possible?"

"I didn't agree to this," I growled. "I wanted to battle _you_, Will!"

"And you will battle me." He said icily. "But you have to understand, Charlee and I battle together. A package deal. You don't get one without the other."

"And would you believe that's probably the most romantic thing he's ever said to me…" Charlee pitched in darkly.

I grimaced. I could feel the anger again, but I forcefully pushed it back down. There was no point in letting the anger cloud my judgement. It was obvious Will wasn't going to battle without Charlee. I wasn't exactly pleased about this, of course. I wanted a one-on-one battle with Will, not a stupid double battle with Charlee sticking her nose in. But I had Jasmine here with me. If I let her deal with Charlee, I could still get to Will…

"Jasmine," I said slowly. "You leave Will to me, alright? Do whatever the hell you want to Charlee, but leave Will to me."

"Sienna…" Jasmine said warningly. "You need to calm down. You're not thinking straight."

I knew what Jasmine was saying was true, but I didn't want to listen to her. I brushed her off. "I'm fine, Jasmine. Just focus on Charlee."

"I still say this is a stupid idea," Charlee said, taking out another Pokeball. "It's a vendetta battle, that's all it is. We should just get out of here. Cut our losses and get out of here."

"Enough, Charlee." Will said sternly. "Like I said, I'm intrigued. If this girl really wants to prove that I was wrong in abandoning that useless Mareep, let her. We both know we're superior trainers."

I was hit by another wave of anger. "I think you'll find _we're _the superior trainers!" I cried, as Meloi growled and Indigo snorted in agreement. I held up another Pokeball. "You better watch yourself, Will Brennan! I'm going to prove you wrong! Just you wait and see!"

And as I threw my first Pokeball forward, the burning rage encompassed me once more, fuelling an already blazing fire and cementing an already iron will. I was going to do this! I was going to make Will Brennan pay for what he did to my Meloi.

He would pay for what he did to my Pokemon.

No matter what.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hi guys :P**

**Sorry for the long wait, unfortunately my internet access is now completely gone, so I have to rely on a friend to update for me.**

**I don't really have much to say for this chapter apart from it's had so much editing and re-doing it's nothing like it originally was.**

**Thanks to my lovely reviewers Sunbean, Sniper Mudkip, WildCroconaw, WarriorSwift, ArchXDeath, Shadow Serenity 57, The Neverending Meep, Shadow of Eckhart and TwewyReaperGirl. **

**So, thanks for reading! And I promise I won't dawdle too much with the next one. **

**Until next time!**


	33. Confronting the Past Part II

The battle between myself, Jasmine, Charlee and Will was quite possibly one of the most emotionally fraught and electrifying I had ever participated in all my life. Even the sheer sight of Charlee and Will on the opposite end of the battlefield before the battle even began made my heart beat rapidly and a cold sweat break out all over me.

Aurora was my first Pokemon and even she seemed to pick up on the seriousness of the situation as her normally cheerful and carefree expression was replaced with one of steely determination, her little face twisted in concentration as she studied her two opponents. Charlee had released a Crobat that hovered ominously overhead, its fangs dripping with venomous saliva as it stared eagerly down at my Sealeo. I stared at Will expectantly. He took his time in motioning for the Spiritomb he had by his side to enter the fray.

I stared at the two Pokemon. Spiritomb, a Ghost type, and Crobat, a Poison type. Both particularly nasty opponents, I realised with horror. I bit my lip. They had a wealth of crippling incapacitating moves at their disposal, and although the Crobat wasn't all that powerful, I knew it was wickedly fast. The Spiritomb was a different matter, however. I wasn't too sure of where its strengths lay, but only a fool would underestimate a Ghost type, particularly one that looked that malevolent and menacing.

Charlee seemed to interpret my moment to study my opponent as something completely different. A devious smile touched on her face and she took a confident step forward. "Rather intimidating, isn't it?" she jeered as her Crobat screeched overhead, making me wince at the high-pitched tone.

"What is?" I asked.

"Our combination. My Pokemon focus on speed, Will's on offensive attack." She suddenly grinned. "Will meant what he said when he called us a 'package deal'. You don't get one without the other. We do everything together, _especially_ battle. So, after years of working together, we came up with teams that complement each other _perfectly_. I focus on speed, Will on power. And together we decimate any opponents foolish enough to get in our way."

Jasmine was biting her lip furiously. She looked uncharacteristically frightened in the face of the Crobat and Spiritomb double-team. Part of me couldn't blame her. It wasn't the Crobat and Spiritomb themselves that worried me. Yes, they worried me, of course, but that wasn't the most pressing issue. These were rogue trainers. They didn't have the normal six Pokemon. They could have seven or eight or even more for all I knew. Another pressing concern was what Charlee had said. If she and Will really did battle together all the time, they'd likely know each other's styles off by heart, be able to compensate and cover for the other's weakness. Jasmine and I had battled together loads of times, but we were nowhere near as in sync as Will and Charlee were likely to be. I grimaced, my mind starting to tick over. If I wanted any chance of beating them, I'd have to stick to my original plan. Conduct this double battle separately and keep Will and Charlee from co-operating.

I glanced at Jasmine and muttered her name. She turned a pale face to me. "Jazz… you have to stop Charlee from interfering." I murmured as softly as I could. "Keep her attention and keep her away. Don't let her interfere with my battle with Will. Cos if those two get to work together… we won't stand a chance."

"Didn't your mother not tell you that it's rude to whisper?" Charlee suddenly intercepted.

"And didn't _your _mother not tell you that it's rude to interrupt?" I hissed back as venomously as I could, before glancing at Jasmine. "Can you do that?"

Jasmine nodded. "I'll try."

"Don't worry, we can do this," I reassured her softly, before turning back to look at Will and Charlee again. I took in a deep, cleansing breath, feeling a peculiar air of calm encompass me. I steadied my nerves. "You know…" I said softly "Maybe you two do have the 'perfect team'. Maybe you are a really great double act. Maybe you do have more Pokemon than us. And maybe you do have _stronger _Pokemon than us. But there's one thing we have that you two don't…"

"Oh really…?" Charlee snarled. "And what's that?"

I found myself smirking. A short laugh escaped me.

"What's funny?" Charlee demanded, her voice harsh.

It made me snicker all the more. "It's funny because it's something you'll never have." I said, feeling my voice grow with more power and confidence as I spoke, my words tumbling out without me even having to think about them. "I know you'll never have it. Because _Meloi _had it, and _you _couldn't deal with it," I shot Will an accusing look. "An iron will. Determination. And the knowledge that no matter how much the odds seem to be stacked against us that we'll _never _give up! You know what they call that?"

Will and Charlee were simply staring back at me now. Neither of them were saying anything.

"They call it 'spirit'!" I cried, before whistling, calling Aurora to my attention. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. This was it. "Aurora! Let's go!"

Roused by what I said, I saw Jasmine lunge for a Pokeball too, letting it fly without a moment's hesitation "Sulphur! Let's burn it up!"

As Sulphur the Quilava burst out of the Pokeball, a surge of adrenaline hit me. This battle was going to be intense. White hot excitement coursed through my veins, fuelling my tired and weary body. I suddenly felt energised, like I could run a marathon. I ordered Aurora forward. Our Water and Fire tag team against Will and Charlee's Spiritomb and Crobat. In light of everything I had just said, Charlee looked a little bemused, but Will's face was slowly twisting.

"A stirring battle speech, I will admit." He said, his voice low. "It's clear you can talk the talk… but it remains to be seen if you walk the walk. Spiritomb," he said, his Pokemon immediately standing to order. "Start off with Hypnosis."

Instinct took over and I was shouting out an order before I even realised what I was doing. "Aurora, don't let it! Water Pulse!"

Aurora let out a roar and Spiritomb was immediately buffeted with a powerful blast of water. The water powered straight into the Spiritomb, knocking it backwards and continuously barraging it. The Ghost type flailed uselessly against the torrent of water, and when Aurora eventually relented, a confused, glazed look spread across the Spiritomb's usually malevolent features.

"Confusion!" Will hissed angrily, before glaring at me, looking furious. "That was nothing more than a lucky shot!"

"Lucky shot? More like pure skill," I quipped back.

Will growled angrily, now fixing his glare on his confused Spiritomb that was now turning slowly itself in circles, completely ignoring anything that was said to it by its trainer. Will then turned expectantly to Charlee, and a confident grin spread across her face.

"You think _that _was skill? Please! If you want to see skill, try _this _on for size! Crobat! Use Supersonic!"

"Jasmine!" I cried out in fright as the Crobat suddenly swooped down.

But Jasmine was just as fast as Charlee's Crobat. "Sulphur!" she called her Pokemon to attention. "Trap it with a Flame Wheel!"

The scorching wheel of flame spiralled forward; radiating such extreme heat and power I instinctively threw up my arms to protect my face. I heard frightened and indignant hollers from the other rogue trainers, accusations of trying to burn the place down being thrown around. But as I glanced up, the flames flickered away; the only thing that was revealed to have been burned was Charlee's Crobat. The Pokemon flopped to the ground, its body bloodied and blistered, undoubtedly unconscious. Charlee immediately stepped forward, rescued her Pokemon, barked for a Burn Heal to be brought to her before treating her Pokemon quickly and efficiently and recalling it. Will's Spiritomb was still suffering from the effects of confusion and was currently lying face down on the ground, doing nothing.

"Sulphur's getting _good_." I remarked to Jasmine, thoroughly impressed.

A smile curled onto her face. "Isn't he just?"

The noises of Pokeballs opening and closing distracted me, and I looked up in time to see Will wordlessly recalling his Spiritomb, replacing it with a Granbull, and a Floatzel emerging in front of Charlee. I heard Jasmine murmur something under her breath as she stared at the two new opponents.

Will was saying nothing, his face betraying no emotion whatsoever. Charlee on the other hand was looking smug, as she patted her Floatzel's head, her eyes never leaving me and Jasmine. "You pair got lucky once." She said icily. "Don't dare think you'll get lucky again."

I could hear Sulphur growling angrily in the face of its Floatzel opponent. The Floatzel was sneering back. I couldn't help but grimace. On paper, this didn't look good. A Fire type normally stood no chance against a Water type; however, I knew that Sulphur wasn't just any old Fire type. He was exceptionally skilled, and so was Jasmine. Not to mention the two were stubborn as a Tauros, exactly I like I was. They wouldn't give up just because of a type disadvantage.

"Floatzal, Aqua Jet! Charlee ordered.

"Gah!" I heard Jasmine curse. "Sulphur, quickly! Smokescreen! Use that to dodge!"

In a move of sheer brilliance, Sulphur leapt backwards, releasing a plume of charcoal black smoke as he did so and disappearing within its depths. The Floatzel propelled by jets of water, hurtled forward with no hope of stopping and flew straight into the billowing plumes of smoke. As the smoke spread like wildfire, I heard an almighty thud sound from within its inky depths and a squeal of pain. I glanced frantically at Jasmine, but she wasn't even looking at me. As the smoke eventually cleared, causing coughing fits among all the trainers, myself, Will and Charlee included, I saw Charlee's Floatzel groggily get to its feet. It teetered amongst fallen boxes that I had a suspicion it had collided with, looking like it had just had a mountain fall on it.

Jasmine suddenly had snapped back into action. "Quickly, Sulphur! Swift!"

Sulphur barked obediently and released the attack. The barrage of star shaped energy formations flew into the dazed Floatzel and the Pokemon squealed in pain as soon as they hit, flailing uselessly against the relentless attack. I mentally fist-pumped as the Pokemon was then hit with Sulphur's Quick Attack, knocking it to the ground and knocking it out. It didn't get up again.

Both Charlee and Will were looking stunned. The emotionless look on Will's face was slowly slipping away, his face knotting into a frown.

"A Fire type taking out a Water type…" he said solemnly. "That's not something you see every day." He then turned an accusing eye upon Charlee. "You're slipping," he imparted, ominously.

Charlee recoiled sharply, like a cat expecting a blow. "Like hell I am!" she yelled, recalling her injured Floatzel and replacing the ball angrily on her belt. She seized another Pokeball, squeezing it so hard I had visions of it cracking under the immense pressure it was under. "I'm only just getting started! Xatu! You're up!"

I saw Jasmine bite her lip nervously at the sight of the dual Psychic and Flying type as it floated serenely into the makeshift battlefield. I didn't get a chance to see their battle unfold as all of a sudden Will was ordering his massive Granbull into attack! The huge Pokemon rampaged towards Aurora, but I clenched my fists and stood my ground, ordering an Aurora Beam, her signature move. Aurora reacted flawlessly. The rainbow hued beam met the Granbull dead on and the Pokemon, unable to stop, veered off course from its thunderous charge, almost mowing down another rogue trainer in its path. It somehow stopped itself from crashing through another pile of boxes and another trainer just in side and it stood, swaying from foot-to-foot, completely reeling from the assault. While it stood there, trying to recover, I commanded Aurora to use Water Pulse. The attack caught the stunned, lumbering Pokemon off guard and judging by the roar of pain it let out, had caused a lot of damage. I dared to glance at Will. He was once again looking furious.

Despite Will's best efforts, the Granbull simply couldn't stand up to Aurora. Will ordered the gigantic bull-like Pokemon to use Crunch, but the attack fell short and surprisingly weak, barely impacting Aurora's thick, blubbery body. I had her retaliate with another Aurora Beam which, when it hit, was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. The giant Pokemon slumped to the ground, sending a violent tremor through the floor. Will was beginning to look enraged as he recalled the Granbull.

Courage and triumph were bubbling up inside me and I was finding it increasingly difficult to squash it down. I had already beaten two of Will's Pokemon in straight matches. A smile tugged at my lips. I was doing this. I was _winning_!

However, my winning streak was simply obliterated in the next round. Will released a Luxray, a vicious Electric type that knocked out poor Aurora with one simple Shock Wave attack. At the same time, Jasmine's Sulphur was finally knocked out by Charlee's Xatu, a shockingly strong Psychic taking out the Fire type. I grimaced as I recalled Aurora, my heart thudding as I whispered an apology into the Pokeball and stowed it away. Although the battle had initially gone in our favour, there was no denying these rogue trainers were tough. We'd knocked out Charlee's Crobat and Floatzel, and Will's Spiritomb and Granbull. But I had no idea just how many other Pokemon they owned, or how powerful they were. Even worse, Xatu and Luxray were tough opponents.

Jasmine took a long, tense moment to eventually decide what Pokemon to use next. I knew that the majority of Jasmine's team wasn't geared up for taking on a dual Flying/Psychic type, so she simply called for Azumarill. Azumarill had bulk and power, and she needed that to take on something like Xatu. I too found it difficult to decide what Pokemon to send in against something like Luxray. I dithered between my choices for a long time, but eventually decided on Kiba.

With new Pokemon chosen, the battle raged on. I sensed a noticeable change in the atmosphere as the next stage of the battle got underway. Will and Charlee weren't fooling around any longer. Will's Luxray was a complete powerhouse with incredible strength and speed, and Kiba fell victim to paralysis early on, severely impacting his ability to move. The Luxray darted around my poor incapacitated Kiba, snapping at his heels and unleashing vicious Crunch attacks, scoring huge and relentless damage. I had Kiba fight back as best as he could, and give him credit, he did well; even lowering the Luxray's guard with a Leer then, in a sheer stroke of luck, used Ember to inflict a burn on the Electric type. However no sooner had the Luxray been burned, it seemed to become ever more aggressive and lunged at Kiba with a Thunder Fang, electrifying my poor Growlithe and knocking him out almost instantly.

With Kiba and Aurora now unconscious, I was starting to get worried. I'd lost two of my most offensively powerful Pokemon, leaving me with only four Pokemon to take on however many more Will had in his arsenal. I swallowed deeply before looking back at Indigo, motioning her to take a battle stance. Next to me, Charlee's Xatu suddenly fell to a particularly nasty Aqua Jet courtesy of Jasmine's Azumarill. I swore under my breath. Jasmine seemed to be doing so much better than me in her battles…

As Charlee released a Yanmega to replace her Xatu, I clenched my fists, tried to forget about what Jasmine was doing and focus on what was going on in front of me.

I knew instantly what to do. "Come on, Indigo! Let's focus! Set up a Future Sight!"

Starting off with a Future Sight was a technique that I always relied on when I used Indigo in battle. She had frail defences, and although had a decent amount of attacking power and speed, one strong hit was enough to cause her considerable damage. Using Future Sight secured me at least _some _damage, regardless of how successful or unsuccessful I was in the battle. As Indigo brayed and readied the attack, I saw Will's face change. I knew he knew what I was doing and what Future Sight could spell for his Luxray which was already starting to tire.

"Quickly, Luxray!" Will's voice, which had remained oddly flat and blunt during the course of the battle, despite his angered facial expressions, was finally beginning to show emotion. It sounded oddly urgent as he gave a command. "Spark!"

"Dodge it, Indigo!" I begged.

Thankfully, Indigo didn't let me down. She bounded forward on her strong limbs, effortlessly clearing the Luxray and the sparkling electricity, landing safely a good distance behind her opponent. As she landed, she pivoted on her heels and on my order, shot the Luxray from behind with a Psybeam. The Luxray screeched in pain, wavered uncertainly on its huge paws and crashed to the ground.

Will now seemed to totally disregard his, albeit futile, efforts to appear calm and composed. Now he was displaying a look of unmitigated fury on his face as he recalled his Luxray. "I won't deny you're pretty good," he said coldly. "Not a lot of people can reduce me to my final four Pokemon—"

My heart leapt. "_Four Pokemon? He only has four Pokemon left!_"

"—but you won't stand a chance against this one! He'll freeze you solid! Abomasnow! Let's go!"

"Oh my God!" I cried, backing away instinctively as the giant white creature emerged from the Pokeball, letting out such an ear-splitting roar that I saw Jasmine's Azumarill and Charlee's Yanmega stop in their tracks. Even Indigo looked worried at the new Pokemon, letting out a nervous whinny in the face of her massive opponent.

"_Come on, Sienna!_" I told myself violently as the Abomasnow roared once more; sending a terrified chill down my spine and making goosebumps spring over my exposed skin. "_You can do this! This guy deserves to be beaten. And you can do it! You have to do it! For Meloi_!"

I heard a vicious cry and repeated swearing as Azumarill suddenly was knocked out. Jasmine replaced her immediately with Skittle, her Delcatty, before getting straight back into her battle. I glanced at Indigo. "Come on, Indigo! Agility, quickly!"

"Abomasnow, stop it with a Razor Leaf!"

Indigo shrieked as the sharpened leaves flew towards her, taking her totally by surprise. She had to duck to the ground to avoid the leaves as they soared over her head, the edges sharpened like the blades of swords. She whipped her head up just in time to see the Abomasnow under Will's orders, lunge at her with an attack he called Wood Hammer. The Abomasnow nailed her viciously with the attack, swinging its massive fist straight into her frail body. As my poor Girafarig struggled to get to her feet, overwhelmed by the powerful physical move, what valiant courage I had held onto suddenly dissipated in front of me, and I stood there, simply dumbfounded.

"Abomasnow! Blizzard!"

I gasped. Blizzard was a horrifying powerful move, potentially devastating to my Pokemon. "Indigo! Please dodge it!" I hollered.

But Indigo could barely move…

My heart gave a painful twist. "Indigo!"

I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut, totally avoid watching the inevitable attack that would befall my helpless Indigo, but I found I couldn't. Like an onlooker witnessing a car crash, I just couldn't help myself, despite the gore and horror I knew was about to unfold. But just as the Abomasnow was about to unleash the attack, I caught sight of a cream and purple blur at the edge of my peripheral vision. I whipped my head around just in time to see Skittle, Jasmine's Delcatty bound away from an unconscious Yanmega and bodily tackle the gigantic Abomasnow, knocking it back slightly and making it roar madly, distracting it from unleashing the attack. I glanced at Jasmine who flashed me a wide, beaming smile.

"Looks like you could have used a little help," she grinned as Skittle ran back to her side again.

"I thought I told you not to interfere…" I said, but I couldn't help a weak smile spread across my face.

"When have I ever listened to you, though?" she asked with a cheeky wink.

I had to laugh. "Well that's true…"

A vicious roar suddenly ripped through me, making me whip around in surprise. I let out a instinctive cry when I saw that the Abomasnow had recovered and was looking at Skittle and my weakened Indigo with pure anger, its eyes narrowed and flashing dangerously. The thing looked so fierce and furious that my legs automatically wanted to run, somehow carry me away from the danger. But Jasmine grinned quickly, looking nowhere near as intimidated as I felt. "Alright, Skittle! Sing!" She then turned back to me. "Better cover your ears."

Initially I hesitated, but as Skittle opened his mouth and emitted a strange melodic tune, I quickly got to my senses and slammed my hands over my ears. I saw Will, Charlee and the other rogue trainers do the same. The Abomasnow however was not so lucky and I saw its giant eyes slowly begin lidding. A drowsy look came over its face and it began to sway ominously. Then as Skittle's song ended, it fell back and hit the ground, making what felt like an earthquake ricochet through the entire of the tiny building.

And then, a strange, tranquil peace suddenly descended on the room. I glanced up just in time to see a massive ball of energy suddenly power towards the unconscious Abomasnow, hitting it square in the gut, sending it flying! My heart stopped. It was Indigo's Future Sight attack! The rogue trainers yelled in fright as the Abomasnow sailed towards them. It collided with a pile of discarded boxes, the horrible, ear-splitting sounds of splintering wood screeching and invading my ears. It didn't move again…

Will recalled the unconscious Abomasnow without a word. He looked furious, the side of his mouth twitching and his eyes ablaze with anger.

"_Three Pokemon left_…" I told myself. I changed a glance at Charlee, who had just released an Electrode. "_I don't know how many more she has left… but Will only has three. I still have Monty, Cairo and Meloi. The playing field is pretty even right now._" I reasoned, before I looked down at Indigo. "_Indigo's done, though. She can't battle any more. She's done well, but she can't battle any more._"

"Indigo, come back." I said, raising her Pokeball and recalling her. "You did well, girl. Good job," I whispered into the spherical capsule before stowing it away again. I looked up to meet Will in the eye. A deep-set frown was eroding his face, his grey eyes narrowed and flashing with murderous intent.

"You're better than I thought." He said stiffly.

I found myself replying without even considering what I was going to say. "So are you." I admitted, truthfully.

"You won't beat this next one, though." A grin spread across Will's face as he held up his next Pokeball. "This one is a particular favourite. Ever been to the Unova region?"

I had to shake my head.

"They have a ton of strong Pokemon over in Unova. I picked this one up there," Will said, grinning deviously. "Packs quite a punch. Rare, to boot. Let's go, Darmanitan!"

The Pokemon he released was something I had never seen before. It was small, squat and a vibrant red in colour. A peculiar thought occurred to me… it looked almost like a tiny ape.

"What the hell is that…?" I murmured as the Pokemon screeched angrily at being released.

With no way of knowing what kind of Pokemon it even was, I decided to go neutral, releasing Monty. Monty was fast enough to compensate for defences that weren't fantastic, and he had a decent amount of attacking power behind him with Faint Attack and Power Gem. I had to admit, I was confident as I sent him in…

But that confidence was dashed within minutes of the battle starting. As my Persian padded into the battlefield, he began growling viciously at the new opponent, but the Pokemon barely flinched in reaction. I tried to ignore the blasts of electricity that danced across the edge of my peripheral vision, which I could only assume were coming from the battle between Charlee and Jasmine and refocused myself on the battle.

"Come on, Monty! Start this off with a Faint Attack!"

Monty flew towards the Pokemon known as Darmanitan, disappearing for a brief moment and reappearing behind it and nailing it with an attack. But to my abject horror, the Darmanitan barely reacted! It staggered for a few moments after the initial contact, but then it retaliated viciously! The Pokemon threw itself bodily at Monty, enveloped in burning flames! I let out a scream of terror as Monty was thrown backwards, screeching in pain. He hit the ground, rolled over for a good few feet, his fur bristling from the heat before eventually he slowed and stilled. I saw him raise his head up weakly, but then it flopped back down again. He heaved a deep sigh before he slipped into unconscious.

I was trembling. Just like that, that Darmanitan had taken Monty out. One hit. That was all it had taken. One hit, and Monty was out. "Oh my God…" I whispered, my voice cracking. "That's… that's… impossibly powerful."

A callous grin spread across Will's face. "I told you won't beat this one."

My voice trembled when I tried to speak, any words to contradict Will dissipating in front of my very eyes. Instead, I forgot about trying to speak and decided to let my actions speak for me. After a brief consideration between the two Pokemon I had left, I decided to send in Cairo. This time, the battle went considerably better in my favour, despite the Darmanitan shooting massive plumes of flame at Cairo, making him have to fly around in a frenzied panic to avoid the crackling flames.

As the Darmanitan paused from its barrage of flames to take a breath, I quickly seized my chance. I ordered a Dragonbreath, which blasted into the Darmanitan and making it shriek in pain. As it recovered from the attack, Will shouting angered orders at it the whole time, I saw a glimmer of an opportunity that could get me the win if I caught it right.

"Supersonic!"

In a stroke of rare good luck, Cairo swooped down, emitting a high pitched noise that made me want to slam my hands over my ears. As it passed over the Darmanitan, a glazed look appeared on its face and it began to stagger helplessly around the makeshift battlefield. A grin and a surge of excitement encompassed me, and I opened my mouth to give another order.

But then I saw the look on Will Brennan's face. His fists were clenched, his face was marred and twisted and his eyes were furious. There was something about that look he was displaying that frightened me horribly. And then…

It was like an explosion of pure temper.

"You stupid Pokemon!" Will suddenly raged, his voice suddenly taking on a rough and horrifying edge. Even I flinched away as he approached his Darmanitan, his fists suddenly raised. "You good-for-nothing Pokemon! Why do I even bother keeping you around if you get confused after five minutes of battle? You're usleless!"

And then I saw him bring up his leg like he was going to kick the Darmanitan. Icy cold fear burst over me like ice crystals, and my entire body seemed to freeze in horror. Only my mouth seemed to work and I let out a shriek. "Will, no!"

Before I could squeeze my eyes shut as my first instinct told me to do, I saw Will suddenly get knocked to the ground by a massive green blur! I whipped my head around to see Jasmine, her hand held up in the shadow of an instruction, her face twisted in sheer anger. I heard Will shout and yell angrily, suddenly bound up and restrained by thick vines courtesy of Jasmine's Ivysaur, Heather.

With Will safely restrained, his still confused Darmanitan oblivious and safe from the fate it had almost sustained, I found myself able to process what was going on. My hands were trembling so violently, my limbs so weak and my mind so full of conflicting and powerful emotions that I just snapped. Rage encompassed me. He had almost done it _again_! He had almost _abused _his own Pokemon right in front of me! Me, of all people! He had almost abused another Pokemon in front of _me_! Me! The one who had taken in the last Pokemon he had abused!

I simply just couldn't believe it. White hot anger fuelled my veins and I found myself screaming until my throat was raw and searing with pain. "You sick bastard!" I screamed. "You monster! How dare you? How dare you try and attack your own Pokemon? In front of _me_? How dare you?"

But Will was barely listening. Entangled in the vines from Heather, he was so focused on struggling to escape it was like he didn't even know I was there. Angry tears suddenly formed in my eyes, but as I opened my mouth to scream again, Will suddenly began thrashing around ever more violently in his vine whip restraints.

"Let me go, you little bitch!" he yelled, spitting with anger as he struggled to release himself from Heather's binds.

"Never!" Jasmine snarled. "What kind of a coward attacks his own Pokemon?"

"Will Brennan is _not _a coward!" Will suddenly yelled, eventually releasing one of his arms and grabbing his Darmanitan's Pokeball. He recalled his confused Darmanitan, still looking furious. "But I don't waste time on _useless _Pokemon!"

He aimed a kick at Ivysaur's vulnerable underbelly, making the Pokemon screech in pain and recoil, the vines uselessly falling away around his body. Freed from his restraints, he marched forward while Jasmine ran to her injured Pokemon's side. Will ripped a Pokeball from his belt and hurled it forward with such force it could probably have seriously injured someone had it hit them.

"Sharpedo! Let's go!"

And just like that, the battle was on again. Blinded by rage and upset, I couldn't focus. Flustered and angry, I couldn't react in time to Will's orders and I went to pieces. Cairo did the best he could, valiantly fighting back against the vicious Sharpedo, even scoring some decent damage with his Dragonbreath. In the end however, it ultimately proved useless. Sharpedo lunged for Cairo, bringing him down to the ground, trapping him in its massive jaws, and I had no choice but to recall him, suddenly terrified of my poor Vibrava being ripped to shreds right in front of my eyes.

My breath was shaky as I readied myself for the final bout. With only Meloi left now to deal with the Sharpedo and the final Pokemon Will had, whose identity still remained a mystery to me, my nerves had gone beyond being controllable. My breath caught painfully in my chest with every inhale and exhale, my hands shook so badly they made my whole body tremble and my eyes could not leave the sight of Will Brennan. He still looked furious, haggard frustration twisting over his face, his Sharpedo growling angrily as I glanced at Meloi and gave her the order to step up.

My nerves were so bad at this point I could barely even speak to give orders. Thankfully, Meloi never let me down. She was a powerful battler and she was fiercely independent as well, able to battle competently on her own without so much as a word from me. I let her take control, only calling for an order when I felt it necessary. And she performed brilliantly. She was a complete tour de force, almost like she wanted to prove her worth to Will as much as I did. She swept the Sharpedo with a series of wicked electric attacks, frying the Water type within minutes.

And when Will, looking like he wanted to disregard everything he knew about Pokemon training and attack me with his bare hands, released his final Pokemon, Meloi still didn't waver. Even when the Weezing that Will released belched out plumes of toxic smoke and gas, she didn't falter, letting loose attack after attack to try and break down the Weezing's massive bulky guard.

As Meloi and Weezing exchanged blows, electricity and poison sludge flying all around the confined space, I dared to glance to my left. As I did, I saw Charlee cry out in frustration as a Weavile collapsed in front of her, and Jasmine confidently commanding a… Noctowl?

"Jazz!" I cried, despite myself as I glanced up at the Noctowl flapping freely above Jasmine's head. "When did you—!"

"Oh yeah! I meant to tell you Albus evolved!" she called back, looking gleeful.

I simply gawped in disbelief. Damn Jasmine and her secretive nature about her Pokemon! I couldn't pay attention though as I was distracted by a ball of sludge that sailed past me, only just missing me. I cried out in surprise, snapped back into my sense and quickly refocused myself back on the battle.

But then, only a few moments later, I heard someone shrieking and all of a sudden, the atmosphere changed. The tense, heavy and downright oppressive atmosphere suddenly began fraught, panicked and urgent. I darted my head to the side. Charlee was backing off away from Jasmine, her Rapidash crumpling to the ground, looking horrified and holding her hands up like

"Will, I'm done!" she cried out, her eyes wide and terrified, suddenly looking like a scared little girl. "She's beaten me! I don't have any more Pokemon!"

Will stopped dead in his tracks and turned a thunderous face to Charlee. "WHAT?"

While he was distracted, I took my chance.

"Meloi, quickly! Thundershock!"

Meloi let out a determined cry and shot the bolt of electricity forward. It crackled, hissing and sparking violently and hit the Weezing dead on. The electricity surrounded the Weezing and fried it viciously.

And just like that, it was over. The Weezing was out. It flopped to the ground, completely defeated. As Will's face suddenly twisted into a look of abject horror, his mouth hanging open in sheer disbelief, something stirred in me. Triumph. I'd done it. I'd done it! I'd defeated him. I had defeated Will Brennan! And Meloi had proved him wrong!

"Meloi!" I yelled, summoning her to my side. She darted towards me immediately and together, we approached Will, who was still looking staggered. He didn't even look angry, he simply looked like he'd been hit with a brick. As I approached him, he backed away. Suddenly, I felt empowered. With every step I took forward, he took one back. I looked across at Will, taking in every detail on his face. His steely grey eyes, normally narrowed in anger were now wide in fear. My mouth opened of its own accord and words began spilling forward. "Didn't I say I'd prove you wrong, Will? Didn't I tell you that Meloi was worth more than what you thought of her?"

As I spoke, Meloi began crackling with angry electricity, bolts shooting out all around her, making the atmosphere fizzle and crackle like a vicious thunderstorm. I heard Charlee scream, suddenly run away from her position opposite Jasmine and throw herself into Will's arms. He held her close as she buried her face into him.

I caught a glance of her face before she hid it, and it made my heart stop, just momentarily.

She looked frightened…

I heard shouts, and as I turned my head in the direction of them, I saw the other trainers begin to jostle around and gesticulate angrily. Then suddenly, they were seizing Pokeballs! I swore repeatedly. Jasmine and I had worked so hard to beat Will and Charlee, I wasn't about to have it spoiled by them interfering!

I turned to Meloi. "Meloi! Thunder Wave!"

Meloi responded straight away in letting loose the bolts of weak electricity. The other rogue trainers were stopped straight in their tracks by the Thunder Wave, paralysed and unable to move. The paralysis hit Charlee and Will too, binding them firmly into place. As I looked upon the trainers, struggling to move, yelling angrily, a strange feeling of crackling energy was encompassing me, hurtling through my veins like the biggest adrenaline high I had ever felt. I slowly walked towards Will and Charlee, feeling my rage at Will grow with every step I took.

He'd been the one who had hurt my Meloi. And now here he was, cowering under her intimidating shadow.

I felt my lips curl into a smirk. Ironic, isn't it? How things work out sometime…

As Meloi towered angrily above a cornered Charlee and Will, I saw a look of sheer panic rapidly spread across Will's face. I heard the shouts and protests of the other rogue trainers, bound in place by Thunder Wave and completely incapable of moving. I could hear Jasmine shouting, but above Meloi's growling and the cackling of electricity, I couldn't make out what she was saying. But as I looked down into the faces of Will and Charlee, I saw Charlee turn her head away from me, her eyes squeezed shut, like she was resigning herself. Will's mouth opened in a vague protest. I heard one word.

"Please…"

I didn't want to hear it. It was the last word I ever wanted to hear being said. It hit me like a slap in the face. With that one word, it was like my whole world came crashing down around me. Everything just became numb.

I took in a deep inhale, feeling a peculiar feeling of calm was over me with the cleansing breath. But I didn't want it. I didn't want to feel calm! Despite what I wanted, it came anyway… I exhaled quickly and sharply, and then my hands rose up to meet my face.

"_What am I doing…_?" I thought bitterly in to the sieve of my hands. I pulled my head up again, and as I looked down once more at the two rogue trainers cowering in fright and panic only a few feet away from me, a thought occurred to me. "_If I do this… I'm no better than he is._"

I breathed in deeply again, my whole body trembling. I knew what I had to do. And most importantly, I knew what was _right_. I knew what was right, but that didn't stop me from hating the fact that what was right and what I wanted were two things that were never going to coincide.

So I opened my mouth and pushed forth the two hardest words I felt I had ever had to say in the whole seventeen years of my life.

"Meloi, stop."

**Author's Note**

**Oh my God, this chapter is long! O_o **

**And it was originally meant to be a lot longer, but after I worked some more on the battle trying really hard to make it big and exciting and suspenseful, I must have gotten a little carried away… **

**Anyway! Here's the chapter… only one day late… I'll get better with these deadlines, I promise. **

**Thanks to my reviewers Shadow Serenity 57, ArchXDeath, twisted diction, WildCroconaw, TwewyReaperGirl and WarriorSwift. Once these chapters start shortening again, I'll start doing personal notes in the author's note again. **

**So, until next time! Please drop a review! **


	34. Forgive and Forget

I felt like the entire world had slowed to a stop no sooner had those two words escaped me. I vaguely heard Jasmine's voice, the voices of the rogue trainers, and what sounded like soft whimpering, but still, they were distant and far away. My vision was completely obstructed by crackling electricity. I could see nothing but that electricity. Everything else just faded into a muted background. I turned my head to look at Meloi, who began yelping indignantly the moment my eyes touched on her. However she silenced when I shot her a hardened glare. Moments later, the electricity faded away and everything became calm and still. Even the rogue trainers, still bound and paralysed, quietened.

I looked down at Will and Charlee. Charlee was still clinging onto Will like he was her last tie to the world, her face buried in his shoulder, a soft, frightened whimpering sounding from her trembling body. Will was looking up at me, his eyes wide and suddenly so full of genuine fear that it made my heart twist with bitterness simply to even look into them. I wanted to look away. Charlee and Will were paralysed, completely incapable of movement. Vulnerable. Scared. A juddering, ragged breath escaped my body.

"_Look at them…_" I thought bitterly. "_After I first heard of Will and rogue trainers, I used to think of them as so… powerful… untouchable… people completely out of my league. But look at them now. They're shaking. They're _scared_. And they're scared because of me. Cos I'm the one in power…_" I felt tears suddenly prick at my eyes. "_Is that what Will felt like all those years ago? Empowered… in a position of authority…? In a position where he had the ability to hurt people…_" I shook my head vigorously, trying to clear it, but the thoughts simply wouldn't leave me alone. "_And now… they're just like Meloi. Terrified. Helpless. Vulnerable._" My body trembled viciously at that word. "_Right now… I could do exactly the same thing to them that they so easily did to Meloi…_" Realisation hit me like a slap in the face and I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes. "_But… but I can't… I just can't._"

I raised my head, the tears welling up in my eyes and in danger of spilling over completely. I had to force myself to look down at Will and Charlee as I began to speak again, my voice croaking and wavering horribly. I'm not even sure what I was saying was understandable. "I can't do this…" I said slowly. "I'm not like you. I won't let myself be this way. I won't ever allow myself, or use my Pokemon, to hurt helpless people… or other Pokemon." I added, pointedly looking down on Will. "I… I don't doubt you need to be punished. But it's not my place, nor Meloi's, to do that. I…"

I suddenly hesitated, taking a moment to wipe my eyes, compose myself and start again. Realisation had once again hit me like a punch in the face, this time with a furious vengeance, and I knew… I just knew. Once again I knew what was right. I hated Will Brennan, and I wanted him to pay for what he did. But at the same time, I knew that there was nothing I could do. And that if I _did _do anything that even remotely harmed them, I would be no better than them… and I didn't want that.

"When Professor Oak told me about Meloi's trainer… the one who abused her…I made a promise to myself I would make you pay for what you did to her…" Despite how much I tried to keep my voice calm, it trembled and shivered and cracked with every breath that spilled out. Because I knew. I knew it was the truth. And it was killing me.

I cleared my throat again and tried to force my words forward. They came shakily, almost like I wasn't sure they were mine. "But I see now I was wrong. You hurt Meloi, and that was wrong… and neither her, nor I, nor anyone I know will forgive you for that. But the hurt she suffered won't go away because I cause you pain. I should know that better than anyone… trying to hurt people who hurt you just causes more problems than its worth." I glanced back at Jasmine, managing to summon up the slightest of ironic smiles. "You'd think I'd have learned that after my dad, huh?"

Jasmine just stared at me, blank-faced. She didn't seem to know what was going on, what I was saying or why I was saying it. I couldn't really blame her. Even _I _didn't understand everything I was saying, or even where it had come from, or what had even possessed me to say them in the first place…

"Violence is wrong." I said slowly. "But responding to it with more violence is just as wrong. You were wrong, so wrong, for what you did to Meloi. But I… _I_ was wrong too. I was wrong for wanting to hurt you in return. Violence… it just breeds more violence. You hurt me, I'd hurt you, you'd hurt me again… And then what happens? It would just never end. It would just be an endless cycle of hurt and pain… " I let out a deep sigh. "So although I'm never going to forgive you for what you did, I'm going to walk away from this."

"Walk away…?" Will said slowly.

"I firmly believe you'll be punished for what you did in due course." I replied. Suddenly, I found I couldn't even look Will in the eye any more. "You ever heard of karma? I… I'm not the most spiritual of people, but I believe that what you do you in life, whether it be good or bad, you get it returned. You do good, you get good in return. You do bad, you get bad in return. Simple enough concept, really. So I guess… I guess I'm happy enough to sit back and let _it _take care of you." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I… I don't know what made you do the things you did to Meloi—"

"If you're looking for a sob story then I'm sorry to disappoint you," Will intercepted coolly. "You won't find one here. I don't know what you're expecting to hear, but there's no traumatic past, no broken family, no deeply ingrained psychological issues that made me do what I did. I was an ambitious kid, that's all there is to it. Too ambitious, some would say. And as I'm sure you've noticed this by now, I have a bad temper…"

Will didn't look scared any more. He looked angry again and bitterly resentful, looking upon me with such furious contempt it was like he was trying to burn straight through into my soul.

He kept talking, his voice low, with a stony edge. "You should know as well as I do that when you couple someone with such ambition with such a fierce temper, it never ends well. It ends even _worse _when that kind of person is paired with a Pokemon that just doesn't listen…"

The strangest thing was that Will now had a strange gleaming look in his eye and an odd, triumphant tone to his voice. It seemed almost like he was… _proud _of what he was saying. Like he was proud of that unprecedented ambition, that furious temper and those violent outbursts. Even Charlee had raised her head to look at Will. She was looking in astonishment, almost like she didn't recognise him…

Will chuckled to himself for another moment, before looking at me with a nasty glint flashing across his eyes. "So really, when you think about it… that Mareep should have known better. It should have _known _I am the way I am. It was the one that insisted on behaving so badly. So really… it was that Mareep's _own _fault that I did what I did."

Meloi suddenly growled viciously, but thankfully I reacted just in time to stop her from lunging bodily at Will. I caught her with my arm, pushed her back and sharply told her to behave, before I turned on Will again. This time it took every ounce of control I had to stop _myself _from attacking him…

"Don't you even _dare _try to pin this on Meloi." I snarled viciously, but Will didn't so much as bat an eyelid at me. "She was just as bad, if not _worse _when she came to me! But look at her now! She's improved so much! It just goes to show that it's never the Pokemon's fault! Never! Pokemon aren't innately bad. You know, I don't even believe _people _are innately bad. They have bad aspects, yes, but they're never _innately _bad. Sometimes, like in your case, for whatever reason… the badness gets too much. It takes over…" I broke off, my mind suddenly filled with images and familiar faces, one in particular standing out as a testimony to what I was trying to say. "But you know what?" I said softly. "People are worth _more _than their worse traits. If you wanted to badly enough, you could still change this. You could still get out of this. Both of you. Your lives don't have to be like this."

"Why do you care?" Charlee suddenly demanded. Her pale face had become reddened, streaked with tears, the thick eye makeup pencilled around her almond-shaped eyes running, black streaks cascading down her cheeks. "We're rogue trainers! Scum! Nobody cares about us."

"I don't believe that." I said at once. "I don't believe there's not one person in the world that doesn't care about you. I know you two care about each other to some degree, at least… And you have families, just like everyone else. I'm sure they care about you. And I'm sure they miss you and would want you home." I paused, before finally saying. "You could go home. You could leave all this behind you. You don't _have _to live like this any more."

"It's too late." Charlee said, her voice sounding thick with emotion, hanging her head.

"It's never too late." I told her firmly. "It's_ never _too late to make a positive change. The situation is _never _too hopeless that it can't be made better. But it isn't enough to think about change, to talk about it, to _wish _for it! You have to go out and _get _it. You know what my mother used to tell me when I was little? If you don't like something, _change_ it! And you can do that if you just _try_."

Will had gone past looking at me with contempt, now it was just pure disgust. Charlee on the other hand was looking helpless, big fat tears rolling down her face. A strange thought struck me as I looked at her.

"_I can reach her…_ _I can help her at least."_

She began shaking her head vehemently. "No. No. No. There's no point."

"There's every point." I reiterated.

"Charlee!" Will suddenly spat, making the girl flinch violently "Shut up! Don't talk to her any more!"

My heart sunk. Charlee had flinched, and although it was an involuntary, impulsive reaction, it was bad news. She was starting to get movement back. That meant the paralysis was wearing off! And if it wore off, that could spell trouble. As I looked at her, I could see her staring at Will in what looked like badly concealed fright. For a moment, I almost felt sorry for her. Will seemed like such a demanding, controlling man, and couple that with the abusive temper… I had a nasty suspicion I knew how he tried to keep her under control. And my suspicion was only cemented further when I saw a purpley-red bruise peeking out from the locks of blonde hair concealing Charlee's neck. A purpley-red bruise that looked frighteningly like marks from someone clasping their hands around her neck and gripping hard…

I had to fight to stop myself from crying out when I saw that horrible bruise. It looked so painful and made my heart sore to see it. Charlee was no angel, I knew that, but it was then that it hit me that she was likely to have suffered just as much abuse from Will's hands as Meloi had. It made me feel sick. What kind of a man would hurt Pokemon that only wanted to please him, or the woman that loved him? I shook my head to myself, hardly able to believe anything anymore…

"_Why does she even stay with him_?" I thought in despair. But the answer came to me all too easily. It was for the same reasons it always was. Fear… she could be too frightened to leave him. Maybe she'd be too scared of what he would do to her if she did try and leave. Maybe it was about belonging… maybe she felt she couldn't belong anywhere else but with him. That being with Will was her only viable option. Or maybe she had simply been deluded into believing that what Will showed her _was _love. Maybe in her head, what he did to her _was_ love. She was no angel, I knew that. Right now she was just as rough and dangerous as Will was, there was no doubt about that. But I couldn't help but wonder how much of that was really down to _her _and how much of it had just been exacerbated by being around Will.

My resolution grew stronger. If I could help her somehow, I had to. I simply had to.

"You know, Charlee…"

She looked at me in surprise as I addressed her.

"You don't even seem like_ that_ bad of a girl… I can see what _he _does to you." I said, pointedly eyeing the bruises on her neck, watching her flinch as my eyes fell on it. Will looked furious and I could see him visibly struggle like it was me he wanted to seize around the throat this time. "You want my advice?"

"No! She doesn't want your advice, do you, sweetheart?" His voice held an almost desperate tone as he looked

"You shut up." I told him coldly, before turning back to Charlee. "I'll give you my advice anyway. And it's very simple. Get out. Get away from _him. _You can do so much better. Get out. Find a dream you want to follow or… or… do something you've always wanted to do." I paused before adding. "It's never too late to make that good change."

"She doesn't want any of that!" Will suddenly yelled. "She wants to be with me!"

"And why is that?" I turned on him angrily. "Probably because you made her _believe _she wants that! You probably didn't even give her any option! What, did you beat her up if she disagreed with you? Like you did to Meloi?"

"Sienna!" I heard Jasmine cry.

"She's no angel, Will! Everyone in this room knows that!" I yelled. "But that still doesn't give you an excuse to beat her like you did."

Charlee was sobbing now. But as she started crying, Will's face twisted into anger once again. "Shut up, you stupid bitch!" he suddenly barked, making her flinch away. "You deserved every bit of what I gave to you!"

At this point, she began howling. As her hysterical screaming sobs sounded out, my patience completely snapped. "Enough!" I cried, before turning to Jasmine. "Jasmine! I need you to get Albus to use Hypnosis."

"What?" she looked at me like I was crazy "Why?"

"Just do it!"

"On everybody?"

"Yes." I nodded. "On everybody!"

"You can't do that!" Will yelled angrily, but thankfully the paralysis was still holding him down, despite how hard he tried to struggle.

Jasmine was hesitating, Albus hovering above her head, hooting softly. She looked uncharacteristically worried as she looked at the trainers, all protesting angrily, telling us we'd never get away with it, threatening to hurt us, to kill us, all horrifyingly frightening things on paper, but I couldn't take any of them as people seriously anymore, let alone their threats. "Do it, Jasmine." I told her firmly.

"Al…alright…"

She gave the order to her Noctowl all the same on my instruction. I saw her wincing as her Noctowl performed Hypnosis, and the trainers began shouting expletives and abuse that would shock a hardened pirate. I couldn't even look at Will as sleep encompassed him and he dropped to the ground. Instead I found myself looking at Charlee, whose tear filled eyes were full of confusion as she too surrendered to sleep. As the other rogue trainers also began dropping like flies, Albus soared behind me to rest on Jasmine's arm. I waited a few moments until I heard soft snoring coming from the rouge trainers, before turning on my heel wordlessly and going towards the door.

I pushed the door open to immediately be faced with a mess of branches that tore at my face, hair and skin. I swore and pushed through, the branches clawing at me until I eventually emerged into the open air, in an empty clearing, framed by a light outline of trees. The air was cool and the sky was very a very light blue tinted with pink edges and wisps of golden cloud lazily drifting by. I turned around to see that I had emerged from what looked like a giant cluster of trees and bushes. I couldn't even _see _any hint of a building concealed within the area of forestry. I blinked in surprise and stared dumbly at it for a few seconds, before finally understanding.

"A secret base…" I said slowly. "Obviously. One of the rogue trainers must have a Pokemon that knows how to make a secret base."

A moment later, I heard a rustling from inside the cluster of bushes and trees and Jasmine appeared, looking a bit haggard, Albus still clinging to her shoulders. "Si…Sienna?" she cried. As she moved, she got herself snagged on a branch and cursed violently, trying to get herself loose.

I didn't know what to say to her, so instead I turned my back to her and busied myself by continuing to look around. Judging by the colour of the sky, it looked likely to be very early in the morning, possibly around six or seven. A quick glance at the time on my phone verified the time at 6:26 AM. I looked into the distance, seeing the Violet City skyline peeking out into the blue sky on the horizon, so I quickly calculated we couldn't be any more than half an hour from the main city.

"Sienna!" Jasmine's voice cut through me sharply as she finally disentangled herself from the branches and stumbled into the clearing alongside me. "What the hell are you _doing_? You're not just gonna _leave _them there, are you?"

"Of course not," I said, perhaps snappier than I intended to.

I took out my phone once again and dialled emergency services. They answered straight away, I asked for the police and I was put through almost immediately. I found myself oddly calm as I spoke to them.

"Hello, police? Yes, I'd like to report the location of the rouge trainer gang that's been terrorising Violet City." I went on to describe the abandoned secret base, concealed in the bushes of the route outside Violet City, before eventually saying that the trainers were incapacitated for now, but they wouldn't be for long. As they promised me they'd be there as soon as they could, I began walking away.

I had taken only a few steps before I felt a hand grab my arm. "You're just leaving?" Jasmine asked shrilly.

"I'm not staying." I said firmly, before I found myself suddenly becoming upset again. "I… I can't. Not while they're still there…"

Jasmine frowned. "Sienna…"

"I know, I know," I said at once. "I was stupid… that whole thing was stupid. The whole situation I put us in was stupid."

"No… I wasn't gonna say that." Jasmine said, coming to put a hand on my shoulder. "I wanted to say that… what you said back then… about the violence breeding more violence? And how it's never too late to make a good change? That… that was a pretty awesome thing you said. And the fact that you could just walk away… that was incredible."

"It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, Jasmine." I said truthfully as I began walking again. "But he was right… as much as I hate to admit it, he was actually _right_. If I did to him what he did to Meloi, I'd be no better than him. And I don't ever want to be that kind of person."

Jasmine let out a deep sigh. "They're messed up people… aren't they? You really think they'll get out of this okay?"

"Look at my dad." I said slowly. "Look at the change he went through. He's a lot older than them, and he was far, far worse than they ever were or probably ever could be. If he can get out of it okay, then I'm pretty confident they could…"

"That Will…" Jasmine said with a violent shudder. "He just seemed so… evil…"

"I don't know if evil is the right word, Jazz…"

"I do." She said, suppressing another shudder. "He'll turn into another Nathan if things don't improve for him. Now he… he was an evil man…"

"I still don't know if evil is the right word." I said, letting out a long sigh. "Yeah, fair enough, I used to… I used to think _Dad _was evil. Right down to the core. But now seeing him change, I have a hard time believing _anyone _is innately evil. Yes, they have bad aspects, but doesn't everyone? Some people are just better at suppressing it, I guess. I kinda… I kinda wonder what makes some people vulnerable to the badness and what makes some able to fight it…"

Jasmine was staring at me. "Sounds like you should have done a psychology degree instead of going to pastry school."

"Oh shush," I said, but I kept a playful tone.

She grinned at me, but then she became solemn again. "I still don't know how you could have let them go like that. If that was me… I'd have ripped them to shreds myself."

I chuckled humourlessly. "I… I'd be lying if I said part of me didn't want to do that too." I paused. "Do you know what my mother used to say to me when I was little?"

"What?"

"No matter what wrongs you get given in your life and no matter who it is that wrongs you, you have to try to forgive and forget. Because if you don't forgive and forget, you'll carry around that burden the rest of your life. Heh… it's strange. When you think about it, she was a big of a hypocrite. She hated Dad as much as I did back then. She hated the things he did to her and to me. She couldn't forgive and forget… but yet she still wanted me to. She said to me once that she didn't want me to turn out like her. She wanted me to be better. She wanted me to be compassionate, to understand people, to be able to forgive people for what they did."

"It's not that easy though…" Jasmine said softly. "I could forgive someone for what they did, sure. But I could never… _forget _that they did what they did. It could never be the same after that. And sure, I could probably do it vice versa. I could forget what someone did, but I'd never be able to forgive them…"

"I've been the same. I can do one or the other, never both."

"But what about your dad?"

"I forgave him." I said with a nod. "But I'll never forget. I can't. I'd like to hope our relationship can get better, but I'm not sure it _can_. You can't forget something like that…"

"And what about Will and Charlee?"

I sighed. "I can't forgive. And I can't forget."

Jasmine said nothing. She looked a little worried. I let out a deep sigh, once again. All of a sudden I felt exhausted. Both physically and mentally. My entire body felt weak and all my senses were numb. I could barely even process what was going on anymore. All I wanted to do was fall into bed and forget this whole day had ever happened. I was also aware that the police would be arriving soon. As much as I wanted to hang around till they got there just to make sure they found the rogue trainers, I didn't want to get caught up in anything messy. So I made a decision.

"We need to get back to the Pokemon Centre," I announced.

Jasmine nodded slowly. "Yeah, they'll be worrying if they wake up and find us gone…"

We began our walk back in silence. Within a few minutes, another issue had made itself clear to me and I spoke again. "We shouldn't tell them."

"Tell who?" Jasmine asked, her eyebrows knotting together.

"The others. Elliot, Nikki, Scott, Bailey… we shouldn't tell them what happened."

"What? Why?"

"Like you said, they'll worry. And everything went fine. No harm, no foul, right?"

"You can't lie to them…"

"I can and will," I said firmly. "They don't need to know. They don't need to know we left, they don't need to know _why _we wanted to leave, they don't need to know we found Will Brennan and they certainly don't need to know what went down in there."

"You can't not tell them!" Jasmine protested.

I turned and shot Jasmine a fierce look. She closed her mouth slowly and looked at me reproachfully. "Fine… we don't _have _to tell them."

"Thank you."

"But you really should!" she insisted, before sighing and shaking her head. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

I scoffed and blew off her concerns, but what she had said had struck a chord with me, and I felt oddly guilty as we made our way back to Violet City. We walked in silence for five minutes, before the unmistakable roar of sirens reached our ears somewhere behind us. Jasmine initially wavered, stopping mid-step to look behind her and look out for the flashing lights and wailing sirens. I knew that our work was done, however, and there was nothing more we could do. I touched her gently on the arm and led her away.

There was nothing there for us any longer.

We reached Violet City again just as the city was starting to wake up and the morning rush was beginning. We slipped into the Pokemon Centre undetected even by the nurse beginning the morning shift and carefully made our way up into the rooms. Mercifully, we found everyone still asleep. Privately, I hadn't expected anyone to be up anyway. It was still barely past seven in the morning. So, with the knowledge the rest of our friends had no clue what we had done during the night, Jasmine and I took the opportunity to shower, get dressed, eat breakfast and carry on with life as normal to ensure the others would continue to be unsuspecting. After some more persuasion over breakfast, Jasmine had eventually relented, and agreed to keep what had happened during the night our little secret. However, as we sat down in front of the television as it approached mid morning, it was evident it was still weighing heavily on her mind.

"It's kinda funny, isn't it…?" she said, as the nine o'clock news bulletin hit.

"What is…?" I said, leaning my tired body into the comfortable, cushiony softness of the sofa I was currently sitting in.

"How you said yesterday that it would be a happy coincidence." She said. "You know… finding Will Brennan and all."

I chuckled, but it was mirthless. "Well the universe does love proving me wrong," I said with a wan smile. "It always has had a way of doing that. I think it likes seeing how… how far I'll bend before I break…"

Jasmine murmured, biting her lip. "How are you doing?" she asked softly.

I thought about it for a few seconds. "About as well as can be expected, I guess. Still a bit shaken…" I added truthfully. "I never expected to find him out there. I never expected him to be the way that he was. And I never expected that I would react the way that I did…"

Jasmine was listening intently.

"But you know what's funny?"

"Huh? What?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"For a moment, for one mad, stupid moment when I was still all groggy from the Disable…"

"Yeah?" Jasmine's eyebrows were furrowing together.

"I thought she… Charlee, I mean… was Helene."

"You did?"

"Yeah." I nodded. I laughed humourlessly. "I knew it was impossible. I don't have the faintest clue who Helene is, but I doubt she's some… young… gothic… rogue trainer, you know?" I was grinning genuinely now. "Dad told me Helene was a scientist. Somehow I doubt she's a gothic scientist with tattoos and leather and spiked stilettos. Doesn't quite fit, you know?"

"True," Jasmine was giggling.

"_We interrupt this report to bring you some breaking news from Violet City_."

"Eh?" I said, turning my head to look at the TV.

"_We have just received official confirmation that a band of rogue trainers have been found incapacitated on the outskirts of Violet City._"

I looked at Jasmine, my mouth hanging open as the scene on TV changed. A middle aged red-headed woman was standing in front of the very well-hidden secret base on the outskirts of Violet City. Immediately, my heart quivered in my chest. Behind her, I could see several police cars, the hidden base surrounded by thick reels of police tape, and many policemen dodging in and out from under it, disappearing on and off camera. I swallowed.

"_Johto Regional News have just been informed that the police received an anonymous phone call in the early hours of the morning, the anonymous caller claiming they knew the location of the rogue trainers that had been terrorising Violet City. Police were dispatched immediately and it has just now been confirmed that yes, the band of trainers are inside this very elaborately hidden secret base."_

The TV changed back to the studio where the main newscaster spoke up again.

"_Any word as to the condition of the rogue trainers_?"

"_The seven trainers were found asleep, most likely incapacitated by a Pokemon move, but otherwise unharmed. They have been woken and are now currently being handcuffed and taken in for questioning to Violet City Police Station._"

"_Do we have any information as to the identity of the anonymous caller?_ _How exactly it is they came to know about the rogue trainers?_"

"_The police will not release any information about the anonymous caller._"

"_I see._" The newscaster looked a little annoyed. _"What about the people who are believed to have done this to the rogue trainers? Another band of rogue trainers, perhaps? Someone infringing on their territory?"_

"_The police have little information on how the rogue trainers came to be in this condition, but have assured us that they will undergo questioning in due course._ _However we have had one statement from a police officer, stating that they suspect a large group of trainers is likely to be responsible, as the seven trainers captured have teams of well over the legal six Pokemon each._"

"How wrong they are." I grinned, whilst Jasmine stifled a giggle.

"_Police strongly encourage those responsible for the incapacitation of the band of rogue trainers to come forward to claim a reward for their good deeds. This band of rogue trainers has been described as 'particularly ruthless' and was responsible for yesterday's attack on the local Violet City Pokemon centre and the theft of several Pokeballs from visiting trainers._"

There was a sudden rustling of paper and the newscaster reporting live was handed something. She studied it intently before whipping her head up back again. "_We have just been informed that among the captured trainers are twenty-one year old Will Brennan from Pallet Town, a notorious rogue trainer who is rumoured to have terrorised over thirty cities and towns ever since losing his trainer's license after a stream of Pokemon abuse. The police have also confirmed that nineteen year old Charlee Frew from Vermillion City, who was stripped of her licence after the death of her opponent's Pokemon in a local tournament held annually in Mahogany Town, is also among the captured trainers."_

"Oh my God…" Jasmine said, horrified. "Charlee's Pokemon once… _killed _another one? _That's _how she lost her license?"

I shuddered. It didn't even bear thinking about. My hands crept around my arms and I sat there, hugging myself, for a few moments, just letting that information wash over me. Sadness rose in me like bitter gall. "_Maybe… maybe I was wrong…_" I thought, wishing I could just sink my head into my hands and cry. "_Maybe she can't be reached…_" But then I forced myself to shake my head fiercely. "_No, Sienna. Don't think like that._" I then raised my head up. "_Come on, Charlee…"_ I inwardly pleaded. "_Wherever you are, whatever it takes, prove me wrong, okay?"_

"_We will of course bring you more news on this situation as it develops. This is Natasha King, reporting live, outside Violet City. Back to you in the studio."_

"_Thank you, Natasha. Now, in other news, proposed legislation to raise the legal Pokemon training age to sixteen will be put to—"_

"Well, well. Will Brennan captured, huh?"

I froze.

The voice was horribly familiar and I instantly felt my heart plummet to somewhere in my stomach as it sounded out. I didn't want to turn around and face up to it. But luckily (or unluckily?) I didn't have to. Moments later, Elliot's face appeared in my peripheral vision and I let out a low groan. He was smiling at least, albeit a little wryly. "I don't suppose you two would know anything about that, would you?"

I chuckled mirthlessly whilst exchanging glances with Jasmine. "Busted?" I asked, my face twisting into a frown.

"I think so," she said, collapsing her head into her hands.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hi guys :)**

**Really sorry this update was delayed. I've had a host of stuff to get through recently which meant that although the chapter was done, it never got beta-read and edited. **

**Also, I've quite severely hurt my back from a fall I took a couple days ago, so it makes sitting over a computer screen incredibly difficult, 'specially since even walking is significantly painful…**

**Anyway! No excuses! Next chapter begins the FINAL ARC of the filler before we launch into the fic's plot and climax. I am quite excited for this!**

**Okay! So, thanks to TwewyReaperGirl, NicKenny, WarriorSwift, Aeroga, The Neverending Meep, TCoBlackRoses, and ArchXDeath. **

**Until next time! Hopefully I won't keep you waiting too long! **


	35. The Not So Quiet Life

At that moment, I simply wanted the ground to just rise up and swallow me whole. It was official. I was in trouble. _Serious _trouble.

"I can't believe this. I actually cannot believe you two…" Elliot's voice held badly concealed tinges of anger and I winced as he dodged around the sofa and stared down at us like a angry teacher in the middle of scolding a child. "What did you _do_?"

I opened my mouth, ready to attempt to deny everything, beg for mercy and explain what had happened all at once, but Jasmine interjected first.

"Don't be mad at Sienna, Elliot." Her voice sounded strangely shy and humble, not like the normal roaring foghorn I often likened it to. "It… it was kind of my fault."

Elliot rounded on her immediately. "Your fault?" he demanded.

The wry smile he had been displaying earlier had now completely dropped off his face and had been replaced with a look of pure unmitigated fury. I winced. I had never seen Elliot look so angry in all the years I had known him, both recently and when we were children. He had always been so calm and composed, never losing a grip on his temper. I wanted to intercept and tell him not to get so angry, but I had a horrible creepy-crawly feeling that nothing I could say would help or save or asses. We had basically been caught red-handed. There wouldn't even be any point in trying to lie or feign ignorance. Elliot was angry. And I could totally understand why. In the cold light of day, it was impossible to deny that what we had done was exceptionally dangerous…

Jasmine was looking uncomfortable under Elliot's steely glare and I couldn't blame her one little bit. "Yeah. My fault…" she swallowed. "I'll admit, I _wanted _to go after the rogue trainers. I wanted to go and take back all the Pokemon they had stolen… I was so desperate to get them back that I was going to go on my own. But Sienna caught me and—"

Elliot turned on me next. Now he didn't look angry, he looked absolutely horrified. "You _caught _her, Sienna? And then what? You _both _went looking for trouble?"

"No, no, it didn't happen like that!" I said hastily. "Yeah, I caught her and after she explained what she wanted to do, I managed to talk her out of it, thank goodness…" I said, shooting Jasmine a look in the process. "But then… we decided to go on a walk…"

Elliot looked dumbfounded. "And what? You _conveniently _walked into the rogue trainers while you were out on your walk?"

I grimaced at Elliot's tones. He had unwittingly hit the nail right on the head and I did not want to verify his sceptical accusation. "Yeah, we sort of did."

Elliot was now looking like he had been slapped in the face. "You cannot expect me to believe that…"

"It's actually the truth!" Jasmine cried indignantly, looking mildly affronted that Elliot didn't seem to believe us. "We went out on a walk cos neither of us could sleep and we saw some people hanging around the Pokemon Mart. They looked like they were robbing the place! So we went to see what was going on—"

"So you just walked straight into danger?"

"What else would you have us do?" Jasmine appealed, a hint of a frown creasing her face. "We're Pokemon trainers, not helpless children! I certainly wasn't going to let them get away with it! So, we went over there and well… well…" she broke off, looking at me helplessly for salvation.

"…stuff happened," I finished for her, trying to smile.

But the look on Elliot's face made the smile slip sheepishly from my face. I sighed, hating the way this was all working out. I dropped my eyes to the ground and bit my lip. "Sorry…" I murmured slowly.

"I'm sorry too…" Jasmine nodded.

I dared to look up at Elliot again. He wasn't looking angry now, however, more sad and despondent. The look on his face tugged viciously at my heartstrings, and I found myself feeling worse to see him sad than I had to see him angry. I wanted to get up, go to him, and reassure him that everything was okay, but I couldn't. My legs simply wouldn't work and I was paralysed to the sofa, my eyes firmly on the floor.

A moment passed before a shadow fell across my vision. I looked up to see Elliot standing above me. Before I could say a word, his hand was gently covering mine. "Sienna…" he murmured softly. "Come with me, okay?

I allowed myself to be pulled to my feet and led away without a word. I didn't even look back at Jasmine as Elliot took me to a secluded spot in the corner of the Pokemon Centre away from prying eyes and sharp ears. As he came to a stop, he let go of my hand, the ghost of his touch still echoing as it fell limply to my side. He leaned across on the windowsill, before running a hand through his long brown hair, making it stick up in odd quiffs. For a moment, I didn't know what to say or do. My heart thudded hard in my chest as I looked at him. It seemed like he was completely incapable of speech or action…

And it was scaring me…

But just as the silence got too much for me and I dared to open my mouth to speak, he suddenly let out a deep sigh and turned to me, his green eyes wide and pleading. "Sienna… you have _got _to stop pulling these crazy stunts…"

I winced, but in truth, I had been expecting him to say something like that. I breathed in deeply, getting ready to plead my case. "I… I had to do what I did, Elliot… I had to protect Meloi."

I had seen his face twist the entire length of time I was speaking, but nothing could have prepared me for him to bang the windowsill hard with his fist, an alarmingly loud thud ringing out. "Sienna!" he cried out sharply, making me violently flinch.

However, no sooner had he done this, his face softened and he stepped forward, pulling me into a hug. I let out a tiny, instinctive squeak as I was pulled into warmth and softness. I took a moment to breathe in his familiar smell, a gentle and sweet musky smell, with the slightest underlying hint of the peppermints he was so fond of. I raised my arms to return the embrace, feeling properly safe for the first time since ever hearing about the rogue trainers.

"Sienna…" he murmured, holding me close, his breath tickling the fronds of my hair. "I know you have to protect Meloi. She's your Pokemon and your best friend after all, I can understand that. But it's _my _job to protect you… And when you pull all these crazy stunts and put yourself in all this danger... it scares me. Sienna, you know what I'm like… you know how much I worry…"

"I know, Elliot," I whispered, clinging onto him even tighter. "You're a bit of a worrywarts, aren't you?"

"Mm… but hey, it's my job to keep you safe…" he reiterated softly, running his hand through my hair. "Hmm…" he said, as the strands fell through his fingers. "It's getting long…"

"I know," I said, managing a little giggle, staring at the wisps of red hair now falling across my forehead. "I'm thinking of getting it cut, actually…"

"Aww, no!" He protested playfully, winding a lock of it around his own fingers, making me giggle with delight again. "I like your hair the way it is,"

"Elliot, you'd like it if it was three feet long and blue," I grinned, and he too chuckled, his green eyes shining. "You're a little bit biased, you know?"

"Biased or not, I like it long."

I laughed and stuck my tongue out at him. "You are terrible, you know that?"

"I know." He shot me a cheeky wink, before his face softened again and he leant down, kissing me softly. As he broke off the kiss, his arms tightened around me and he whispered in my ear. "You mean so damn much to me, Sienna… I couldn't bear to lose you…"

My heart twisted in my chest and I became overcome with such sadness that I almost lost it right there and then. I looked up at Elliot, taking in every minute detail of his face and I was hit by such a wave of emotion that I simply wanted to throw myself at him and hold him for eternity. Instead, I sniffed fiercely to try and contain that emotion, found his hands and held them tightly. "Elliot… you won't ever lose me," I told him firmly, before grinning and looking up to him once again. "You're stuck with me for a long time, I hope you know this?"

That saying was an old favourite joke of ours. Telling each other we'd be 'stuck' with the other whether they liked it or not. It was definitely a unique way of showing affection to each other, that was for sure, but in the year and a half Elliot and I had been together, we never had had that 'conventional' relationship that 'normal' people had. But it worked for us, and I knew I was in as much love with him now as I ever had been. Perhaps even more…

I looked up at Elliot expectantly. This little in-joke of ours had always raised a smile and this time was no exception. Elliot was smiling broadly.

"Well, Miss Volbeda, I can't think of anyone in the world I'd rather be stuck with than you."

My heart fluttered in my chest at his words and I giggled shyly, feeling a blush tinge my cheeks. Elliot often said this to me, and once, in the early stages of our relationship, I had been worried that he saying the same things to me all the time would become sad and boring after too long. But it wasn't. He still said the old line with as much love and affection as he ever had, and it was nice, comforting, to have familiar things and sayings to share with him. I smiled once again and hugged him tight, suddenly fighting off another wave of emotion. "You're a charmer, Elliot Wood, you know that?" I said, a little thickly.

"I know. And I'm not even trying," he grinned, before tilting my face up to kiss me again. "Hey, I love you…"

"I love you too," I replied without hesitation. "So much."

He kissed me again, before touching my face gently, cupping my cheeks with his strong hands. His touch made me feel a little weak, and I felt my cheeks redden as I became conscious of his fingers gently caressing my cheeks. As I stood there, fighting to keep a silly grin off my face, he suddenly smiled broadly. "You're blushing."

"Of course I'm blushing!" I said in embarrassment, feeling the blush suddenly intensify.

"You're cute when you blush."

"Eh?" I gasped, before pushing his hands off my face, my cheeks suddenly feeling red-hot. "G—get away from me with that 'cute' nonsense!"

Elliot was laughing. "I'll get you to take a compliment yet,"

I stuck my tongue back out at him, blushing furiously and unable to come up with any other appropriate reaction. He returned the gesture, but overcome with a laughing fit, couldn't maintain it. This of course, made me laugh too and the two of us hugged one more time, holding each other close for a few seconds. I wanted this soft, precious moment to go on forever, or at least, last long enough that I could imprint on my brain and _remember_ it forever. However, the Pokemon Centre was beginning to fill up with trainers coming down to and from breakfast, and what little privacy we had managed to find was instantly jeopardised. We both spotted Nikki and Bailey arriving in the lobby from the dorm area, looked at each other and simultaneously let go.

Without a word, he moved away, heading towards the others. Part of me sincerely hoped that Elliot would keep what Jasmine and I had done completely secret, but I had my doubts that he would. And while Elliot didn't actively go out of his way to tell Nikki and Bailey what had happened, as soon as our friends heard the news that Will Brennan had been captured, they both instantly wanted to know what had happened. And of course, Elliot gave them the answers they both wanted. Upon hearing the details, Nikki was horrified that she had simply slept through us sneaking out and leaving, and after realising how easily we could have been hurt, sobbed for about an hour, despite myself, Jasmine and a rather perplexed Bailey's attempts to calm her down. At this point, seeing Nikki's hysterical tears was making me feel increasingly guilty. I didn't like worrying anyone, especially not my friends and my boyfriend. A thought invaded my head. Maybe I _should _stop being so reckless…

However, even as I thought this, I had to laugh. As much as I wanted to stop being careless and stay out of danger, some part of me told me it would never happen. I never was the kind of person to go looking for danger, but it still somehow followed me around like a bad smell. It made me think that I wasn't exactly destined for the quiet life. Something told me that my desire for a quiet, peaceful and 'normal' life had been totally destroyed the minute I had woken up that morning on my fifteenth birthday and held Meloi's Pokeball in my hand for the first time. No, I had made up my mind. Myself and the quite life was just a combination that was never going to happen…

We filled in Scott later on in the day when he eventually emerged from the seclusion of his room. Unlike Nikki and Bailey whom had been horrified at the news of what we had done, Scott actually seemed quite impressed to learn Jasmine and I had taken down a whole league of rogue trainers by ourselves and was keen to hear all the details. He seemed highly fascinated by the teams Charlee and Will had used, picking our brains for as much information as we could give him, and later professed that he would have quite enjoyed testing his strength on them too. Elliot shook his head and muttered 'what an idiot…' under his breath at Scott's confession, but thankfully the hot-headed fourteen year old didn't hear him. Nikki also looked horrified and told him the best way to test his strength wasn't on 'scary illegal trainers who don't even play fair!' but on proper, respected trainers like the Violet City Gym Leader. Scott nodded, seeming to actually listen to his sister for a change and seemed to quite relish the idea of another Gym Leader challenge.

The rest of the day passed slowly. The Pokemon Centre was still in ruins from the attack from the rogue trainers, so we spent the majority of it getting it all cleaned, reorganised and put back together. It was a long, boring, and often back-breaking operation to remove all the broken bits of furniture, move in the newly arrived replacement furniture, clean everything up and put the finishing touches together. Of course, news had spread throughout the Pokemon Centre that the rogue trainers had been apprehended, but thankfully, the fact that it was Jasmine and I that had incapacitated them remained a secret. I spoke to several trainers throughout the day who had become excited about the prospect of a gang of vigilante trainers going around taking the law into their own hands and I privately chuckled merrily at their imaginations, wondering how on earth they could come up with such an idea.

I discovered later, however, that the excitable young trainers weren't really to blame. The local media had cooked up some mad idea that there was a band of Robin Hood-esque vigilante trainers going around to try and solve problems that the police couldn't solve. Every time it came on the news I couldn't help but snort with laughter. Part of me wanted to set the records straight since it was so far off the mark of what had actually happened, but if the fictional vigilantes put the minds of the local trainers and residents at ease, and I didn't have to get involved and own up to responsibility, I was okay with that.

As night fell, the police dropped by to return the stolen Pokeballs they had recovered from the rogue trainers. The trainers who had their Pokemon stolen instantly mobbed the police officers, desperate for information on the band of illegal trainers and wanting to know if there was any truth to the reports the media were sending out on the vigilante trainer gang. Out of curiosity, I sidled up to where the police and the local trainers were talking and eavesdropped. The police were pretty adamant that they couldn't hand out information to just anyone, but strongly hinted that they shouldn't believe everything they heard on the television. Finally they imparted on the local trainers that a proper, full and wholly truthful report as to what happened would eventually be released to the public as soon as they finished questioning the trainers. With that, the police gave back the stolen Pokeballs and were on their way.

I kept on watching and eavesdropping even as the trainers gleefully took back their lost Pokeballs and happily released their Pokemon. I couldn't help but smile as I saw the trainers reunited with their friends, many of them scooping up their Pokemon in their arms, hugging them, one or two of them even bursting into tears as they embraced them. Seeing the sheer glee and relief and happiness on those trainers' faces as they welcomed their Pokemon back made my heart warm and fuzzy.

I smiled once again as the trainers began to leave. "_Yeah… seeing that… It makes it all worth it. Any amount of danger I was in was totally worth it to see those trainers back with their Pokemon. Because that's so precious… It's so worth it. Every time._"

Night fell, but when I went to bed, my sleep was disturbed and I was restless, tossing and turning for some unknown reason, my mind weighed down by thoughts of Will and Charlee, wondering how they were doing, what was going on with them. Thinking about Will and Charlee somehow also made me worry about Helene… I'd been watching the news like a hawk ever since I had first heard about her, but there had been absolutely nothing on the news concerning her, and I'd heard nothing further from my father. I knew the old saying, no news is good news, but that still didn't ease my concerns. I had an odd feeling of foreboding that I'd felt all too many times before…

But as days passed, my fears seemed to be unfounded. The days passed slowly, gloriously and with little to no news on much of _anything _released to the public. The incident with the rogue trainers seemed to drop off the face of the earth within a few days, all thoughts of bands of vigilante trainers totally forgotten as the police eventually released a statement that the rogue trainers would be remanded in custody until an appropriate court date could be set and to ensure no information they had would be leaked.

So, the days passed peacefully, for the most part. Violet City Pokemon Centre was more or less empty due to the closure of the Violet City Gym for the immediate future, so there was very little keeping any passer-by trainers there. Elliot suggested forgoing challenging Falkner and just moving on to Ecruteak or another nearby city in search of the third Gym badge, but I wasn't too keen and managed to convince everyone to stay until the Gym reopened. As much as I knew Scott in particular was frustrated about having to stay in one place, I found myself quite welcoming to the peaceful days. I found that I wasn't missing the familiar comforts of Pallet Town and I wasn't even missing the typical trainer lifestyle of being constantly on the road either. Right now, I was happy and content enough exactly where I was. I often caught myself smiling for no reason when I was simply hanging around the Pokemon Centre or with my friends or my Pokemon. I was happy. Being out on a journey again was one of the best decisions I had made in a long time.

A week and a half passed like this, and it soon began to feel more like a relaxing holiday than anything else. However, by the time the second week began drawing to a close, some disturbing news broke out into the world of Pokemon training. News was coming from the government that legislation aimed at raising the legal training age to sixteen was tipped at eventually being passed, which would leave a lot of trainers, Scott included, technically not permitted to train Pokemon. Even trainers who already possessed a trainer's license, like Scott who had held a license since the age of eleven, would have it stripped from them and reissued only when they turned sixteen. This fact rightly enraged him and he went off in a vicious rant in full view of the Pokemon Centre lobby as the news broke, yelling angrily at the unfairness of the whole situation, which was quite possibly the most animated I had ever seen him…

While Scott was angry and a little fearful, he admitted, to the thought of having to forfeit his license for two years, Elliot on the other hand was far more confident. "They'll never pass it," he assured the younger boy firmly. "Not at sixteen; that's way too late. They might have more luck shooting for the age of thirteen or something. That makes more sense, but never sixteen. Never sixteen."

While Scott didn't look so sure, Elliot remained fiercely positive. I honestly didn't know what to think or believe in regard to the issue. I wasn't even sure where I stood on the matter any longer considering I had seen both sides to the story. I knew young kids travelling out on the road alone were in huge danger when being left responsible for themselves. It was dangerous for someone as young as ten or eleven to travel alone, even with the protection of Pokemon, I knew that. Hell, it was dangerous for someone even _my _age to travel. Simply because you never know what's gonna come round the corner. At the same time however, I wasn't sure I agreed with imposing such a limit… not if what it was kids really wanted to do… Not when children had been training Pokemon at that young of age for as long as I could remember. Every time I thought about it and tried to formulate an opinion, I just ended up tying myself up in knots. The whole issue was just too confusing for me to even attempt to wrap my head around…

So instead, I simply put it to the back of my mind and carried on as normal. I thankfully didn't have to think about it too much as the day after the news broke about the training age proposed to be raised, Violet City Gym reopened for business as normal, almost a full two weeks after the end of the battle tournament. We unfortunately didn't get a chance to battle the Gym straight away, as there was a long line of impatient trainers waiting for entry. In fact, it was that busy and in demand that we all had to put our names down on a waiting list in order to challenge the Flying type master. Luckily for us, we were able to get our names down fairly early on the waiting list, and snagged timeslots on the afternoon of the Gym's second day of re-opening. It wasn't just myself that had decided to take on Falkner; Scott, Bailey and Jasmine also deciding they wanted to try their luck against the Flying gym leader. Of course, as always, I was volunteered to go first.

I had to admit, it felt a bit strange returning to the giant open air battlefield once again after the battle tournament two weeks ago. The place looked immaculate, completely spotless and rebuilt perfectly. The stands, battleground and podium looked completely brand new, not so much as even a hairline fracture remaining where the ground had once been ripped apart, stands had been uprooted and explosions and churned earth had once peppered the entire battleground. The entire of the gym looked brand new and perfect, like it was newly built. It looked almost like there hadn't even been a single battle ever held here, let alone a massive tournament.

As we stepped out into the open battlefield, it was oddly quiet. There was no-one around, not even a gym proctor. I swallowed, running my tongue across my dry, chapped lips, suddenly feeling a stab of nerves. Nothing moved. The open emptiness of the gym and the endless sky spread above me was intimidating. I almost felt like it was taunting me. A thin gust of wind picked up, biting at my exposed skin and making me flinch slightly.

"Where's the Gym Leader?" I heard Bailey murmur in worry behind me.

Muted conversation picked up behind me as I raised my eyes up to look at the sky that from so high up seemed to go on forever. It was a deep blue colour, thick puffs of white cottony cloud drifting lazily across it. Another gust of wind picked up and it was so cool and refreshing that I closed my eyes and let it wash across me, like a wave breaking across the sand, I stood there, eyes shut, feeling the cool wind breeze over my body. For that one moment, I felt totally calm and at peace with the world.

And then, there was an ear-piercing shriek and a gust of wind so powerful that it almost knocked me to the ground! I cried out in surprise, snapped my eyes open and looked upwards. A dark shadow suddenly fell across my vision, so huge it momentarily blocked out the afternoon sun, the winds intensifying before suddenly a giant Pidgeot landed right in front of me! I shrieked in surprise and almost fell over my own feet again as the giant Pidgeot spread its massive wings and cawed angrily.

It was only then that I noticed there was a rider straddling the Pidgeot's back. As the winds slowly died down and everything calmed, I finally got a good look at him. He was a tall, slim man with a shock of blue hair obstructing part of his face, leaving only one piercing blue eye visible. His clothes were simple, a loose, open, light blue shirt over a darker blue outfit that inexplicably reminded me of samurai attire. The entire outfit was offset by black and red wristbands and black shoes. He held himself with such pride and elegance atop the Pidgeot as he stared at me through the fan of his hair.

"Falkner…" I murmured to myself.

In one fluid movement, he dismounted gracefully from the Pidgeot, landing expertly. He produced a Pokeball and recalled the Pidgeot he had been riding. With a cool nonchalance, he stowed away the Pokeball and approached me. He carried himself with a refined air, moving with such poise and style that I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by his presence.

"So, you're here to challenge me, then?"

"Y…yeah." I said, managing to nod my head firmly.

"And your name is…?"

"Sienna Volbeda."

He nodded, folding his arms lightly "And is this your first gym battle in Johto, Sienna Volbeda?"

I chuckled a little. "Not quite." I said with a wry grin. "I've already beaten Whitney from Goldenrod and Bugsy from Azalea."

"Really…?" he said, looking interested. "That's… unusual. Not many trainers go _backwards _through the Gym circuit. This will make things… interesting…"

"Interesting?"

"Yes," he said with a smile. "You've taken quite an unorthodox method in challenging the Gyms. Most unusual."

"If you think _that's_ unsual, I've got badges from Cerulean City gym and Sootopolis City Gym, too." I said with a smile.

"Really…?" Falkner looked intrigued. "So, you've beaten Misty, Wallace, Whitney and Bugsy already… I see. Hm. Any other Gym Leader would be a little worried, seeing his challenger beat some of the finest Kanto and Hoenn have to offer, as well as his own colleagues. But I'm not." He said with finality, taking a firm step forward. "Well, my name is Falkner, as you already know, and I am the leader of the Violet City Gym. You know, they say that Flying type Pokemon can be easily defeated by something as simple as a bolt of electricity… but my father taught me that bird Pokemon are the noblest and most honourable of all the types in the world! And I believe that! I won't allow people to insult the magnificence of bird Pokemon any longer! So, Sienna Volbeda, are you ready to battle me?"

"Y… yes!" I blurted out, without even thinking.

"Very well." Falkner said. "Take your position. We will begin."

I did as I was told and took my position at the other end of the battlefield. It felt strangely familiar being back here and I couldn't help but think of the battle tournament two weeks ago. I thought of all the powerful trainers, strong Pokemon and amazing battles I had both participated in and seen unfold in front of me. I swallowed. This place just seemed to be a stadium for greatness, and here I was, standing right in the thick of it. Was I really great enough to merit being here? I didn't know… I clenched my fists tightly. It didn't matter how many other Gym Leaders I'd beaten before or how strong they had been, I was always going to be nervous and afraid in the face of a new one. In a sense, it didn't even matter how many normal _trainers _I had battled and defeated before. Because I knew that no matter how good you were or how bad you were, there was always a chance to win. And vice-versa, there was always a chance you could lose…

Because that's what Pokemon battles were like. Nothing was ever guaranteed. Victory, or defeat, was never _ever _certain…

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hi guys, another update for you. **

**I didn't get as much ground covered in this one as I would have liked, but I'm glad to have worked in a little GreenhornShipping fluff into it. **

**Next chapter is the culmination of Sienna vs Falkner and be on the lookout for two big shocks! **

**Thanks to my readers and reviewers, as always! Big thanks to SniperMudkip, The Neverending Meep, ArchXDeath, WarriorSwift slightlyobsessedHaylz (Your review especially made me beam with happiness! I loved it), Shadow Serenity 57 and WildCroconaw!**

**Until next time, guys! Your reviews really do mean a lot to me!**


	36. Come Fly With Me

Falkner slowly pulled a Pokeball from his belt, grinning all the while, as if he was enjoying and savouring the look of uncertainty I was no doubt displaying. I was horrifically tense and completely unsure as to what Falkner was going to do or even _could _do. My body itched with the need to move, but I was still frozen. To add to my already tightly stretched nerves, the place was deathly quiet, the only movement seeming to come from the folds of Falkner's extravagant outfit flapping in the biting winds. I chewed on my bottom lip, remembering what Falkner had said when we had first met. From the way he had spoken it was like he seriously looked down on people that used Electric Pokemon to take on his beloved Flying types. I had to moisten my lips as my mouth ran dry from nerves. Thoughts invaded my head, twisted around in my mind and clashed viciously. After a moment's consideration, I made a decision. In my heart I knew that I was a good enough trainer that I knew I didn't have to rely on type advantages. I decided I would show this guy _exactly _what I was made of! _Without _having to use Electric types!

Falkner released a Pidgeotto first that soared majestically into the air and letting out an ear-piercing shriek. As the Pokemon flew high into the sky, sailing far above our heads, I began calculating. Battling a Flying type Pokemon on the ground was just asking for trouble. I needed a Pokemon that could either get up in the air with that Pidgeotto or had attacks that could reach such a long distance. I mentally ran through my team with these criteria in mind. Cairo was the only one who could fly, but he wasn't exactly the strongest in my team. He was still part Ground type, meaning the majority of his attacks would be totally useless against Flying types. The only moves I could use were Supersonic, Faint Attack and Dragonbreath… and even then I wasn't so sure he could even keep _up _with Flying Pokemon… I dithered hopelessly before finally deciding that I simply couldn't use Cairo. He could fly, yes, but I felt he just didn't have the physical power or defensive strength to guarantee me that win I so desperately needed.

My pride refused to let me use Meloi for the battle, and omitting Cairo meant I had to decide between Aurora, Monty, Kiba and Indigo. Monty and Indigo weren't strong physical attackers and they didn't have much range on their attacks. So that left me with Aurora and Kiba. Both had their advantages. Aurora had a much wider range of attacks and she had a lot of power behind them, but she was slow and dodging certainly wasn't her strong point. She'd be a sitting target for the bird Pokemon's wickedly fast attacks. Kiba on the other hand was fast and agile, with decent strength and range on his attacks, but he was weak defensively. I floundered for a long time, before eventually making my decision and unhooking a Pokeball. "Kiba! Let's go!"

As my excitable Growlithe burst from the Pokeball with an enthusiastic bark, I saw Falkner's eyebrows twitch. "A Growlithe…" He said in amusement, looking up at his Pidgeotto that was still circling above us. "What an interesting choice."

I had to bite my tongue fiercely to stop myself from responding with a scathing remark. I hated people who made assumptions about an opponent just by the first Pokemon they chose. Gym Leaders seemed especially guilty of this, whether that was justified or not. I clenched my fists tightly as the Gym Proctor stepped forward to issue the rules that I had grown scarily accustomed to hearing. I felt I could recite them right there and then alongside the proctor…

"This will be a two on two Pokemon battle between Gym Leader Falkner and challenger Sienna Volbeda! Use of items is prohibited, and there will be no time limit. You may begin!"

I didn't dare wait to give Falkner any chance and snapped straight into action no sooner had the last syllable left the proctor's lips. "Come on, Kiba!" I shouted, bringing the exuberant puppy Pokemon to attention. "Start off with a Flame Wheel!"

"Groooowl!" Kiba barked obediently, before shooting forth the magnificent spiral of burning fire that was fast becoming his signature move. I tensed, anticipating the flames to burn ferociously right into the Pidgeotto's path, scorching its feathers, but the bird Pokemon merely soared safely out of the way!

"What the…?" I gaped in shock as the Pidgeotto effortlessly evaded the attack, flying straight over my head and circling round again.

Falkner was grinning as the bird Pokemon sailed past the burning flames, which merely burned away into mere glowing embers that fell uselessly to the ground and blinked out. "See! That's how we fly! Now come on, Pidgeotto! Gust!"

I hadn't anticipated the sheer power behind the force of the Pokemon's attack, so instead of ordering Kiba to attack or evade, I simply (and stupidly) stayed quiet, assuming the attack would do barely any damage worth mentioning. I was wrong. The winds the Pidgeotto summoned up were strong. They were almost hurricane force! I was amazed a mere Pidgeotto could make such an awesome display of power! The winds swept up poor Kiba, lifting him up from the security of the ground and sending him hurtling backwards! Panicked, I could do nothing more than shout his name, as no sooner had he hit the ground, the Pidgeotto was soaring above him again! I let out a cry of shock as the Pidgeotto suddenly broke into a dive and sped towards him! I wanted to cover my eyes, stop myself from seeing the vicious attack, but I couldn't. I watched helplessly as the Pidgeotto hit out, slashing its wings straight across my Growlithe's fragile body in a perfectly executed Wing Attack. Kiba shrieked in pain and tried to snap at the Pidgeotto as it hovered nearby, but his efforts were useless. His jaws snapped helplessly together, completely missing the Pidgeotto. For all the difference it could have made, the Pidgeotto could have been miles away…

Once Kiba eventually staggered to his feet, I urged him to use his Fire attacks to attack, but as hot as both his flames and determination initially burned, they fizzled out too quickly. The plumes of fire simply couldn't reach the Pidgeotto who swerved expertly to avoid the rush of flames every time, swooping down just low enough between attacks to deliver nasty, impossibly fast and continually surprisingly powerful Wing Attacks and Gusts. Kiba was under constant attack, bombarded non-stop with barely any reprieve. Eventually, after an intense five minutes of sheer, vicious onslaught, he simply couldn't take it any longer. He collapsed…

I recalled Kiba as soon as he fell to the ground, feeling instantly guilty. My poor Growlithe had simply been destroyed out there by the aerial attacker, and I was in a serious dilemma. What could I do now?

Part of me knew that if I used Meloi, I knew I would practically be guaranteed a victory so long as Meloi got the chance to land the hits. However, there was a huge part of me that didn't want to use Meloi for that exact reason, as mad as that may sound. I know what you're thinking. Why would anyone deny themselves a chance to win when it was right there for the taking? Call me crazy, but I just couldn't see the achievement in winning a battle, even a Gym battle, by relying solely on type advantages. To me, it just felt like… not cheating exactly, but almost like the victory wasn't wholly deserved. Battling wasn't about exploiting weaknesses to me, it was about finding clever strategies so that type advantages and disadvantages barely even came into play. Not only that, but the way Falkner had spoken about Electric Pokemon beating Flying types had cemented it in my mind. I wouldn't rely on Electric types. I wanted to show Falkner and prove to myself I was better than that.

I was still facing a hard dilemma though. I had assumed that long range attacks would have worked just fine with Falkner's beloved bird types, but I had been wrong. They were too fast and agile even for long range attacks. I seriously doubted even Aurora's attacks could reach them. I knew then if I wanted even the slightest chance of beating Falkner, I needed an aerial attacker. However, the only aerial attacker I had was Cairo…

I removed his Pokeball from the belt around my waist and squeezed it tight, willing and wishing for this battle to go well. I then threw it forward, calling his name. "Cairo!"

As my Vibrava buzzed rather erratically into the battleground, Falkner's eyebrow twitched. "Ah, I see. You've finally wised up and decided to use a flyer. Hmm," he nodded, looking Cairo up and down, almost critically, I felt. "But it won't make any difference, you know?"

"We'll see about that!" I cried, looking up at Cairo. "Quickly, Cairo! Supersonic!"

"Pidgeotto, Wing Attack!"

I let out a yelp of shock as the Pidgeotto suddenly broke into a dive. I calculated as fast as my panicked mind would let me. There would be no way Cairo could attack before that thing would be on him. "Dodge it, quick!"

In one moment of blind panic, I had a vision of the Pidgeotto colliding with Cairo and knocking him straight to the ground, ending the battle right there and then. However, to my extreme shock, Cairo let out a confident cry and swerved out of the way, his wings moving so fast they were nothing more than a blur. The Pidgeotto swooped past him safely, but it only missed him by what looked like millimetres. I squeaked in horror as the Pidgeotto flew past me at lightning speed, nearly knocking _me _over. As the Pidgeotto swerved, turning itself around to begin another assault, I found myself screaming out a command. "Come on, Cairo! Supersonic!"

I remembered only just in time to jam my hands over my ears as Cairo emitted a strange high pitched noise. As soon as it sounded out, I saw the Pidgeotto's eyes suddenly come over glassy and wide as it slowed to a stop, flapping its wings only enough to keep it airborne, but making no other movement. As Falkner yelled for his Pidgeotto to snap out of it and I heard murmurings coming from the stands, I seized my chance, my heart in my mouth. "Now, Cairo! Faint Attack!"

Cairo responded at once. He zoomed towards the dazed Pidgeotto, before suddenly completely disappearing! I heard gasps coming from somewhere at this and I found myself fiercely willing Cairo to put as much strength behind this attack as he could. He didn't disappoint. He reappeared behind the confused Pidgeotto, nailing it with a vicious attack teeming with sheer power! The Pidgeotto cawed in fright and pain as it lurched forward, still too dazed to attack. I felt goosebumps spring up all over my body as I yelled out another command. "Come on, Cairo! Finish this! Use Dragonbreath!

And with that attack, it was over. The Pidgeotto was done. It dropped to the ground, completely overwhelmed by the power of the flames from Cairo's Dragonbreath. I saw a look of displeasure slowly inch across Falkner's face as he slowly recalled his Pidgeotto in a calculating manner.

"You took out one of my best fliers, Sienna Volbeda." He said as he looked down on me with narrowed eyes. "Maybe there's more to you and that Vibrava that meets the eye. Unfortunately though, you're not going to win here. I'm going to show you the ultimate in Flying type power! Let's go, Pidgeot!"

No sooner had I heard that word 'Pidgeot', my heart gave an ominous twist before plummeting sharply to somewhere in my stomach. When the Pidgeot that Falkner had flown in on was released into the fray, I honestly wanted to turn straight around and run out of the battlefield. That Pidgeot was intimidating, with a sharpened beak, huge, beady eyes and was massive. I had thought Scott had owned a big Pidgeot, but this one was just something else. Falkner's Pidgeot was easily as big as Scott's, if not bigger, but while Scott's carried a bit of extra weight and fat where it probably shouldn't, Falkner's was lean, powerful with a wingspan that spanned more feet than I cared to count. I looked at my little Vibrava hovering nervously next to me in the shadow of that beast of a Pidgeot and felt like I wanted to throw up

Cairo was buzzing nervously next to me, and I turned my head to look at him. "What do you think, Cairo?" I murmured nervously. "Think you can do this?"

"Viii…" Cairo buzzed, looking scared.

"You've gotta do it, Cairo…" I told him, putting as much confidence and encouragement into my voice as I could. "You _can _do it. Now come on! Supersonic, again!"

It seemed Falkner wasn't going to take any chances, as no sooner had the command left my lips, he too was shouting out an order. "Wing Attack!"

With speed I felt was practically undetectable to the human eye, the Pidgeot raced towards my poor Cairo! Cairo was still standing near to me, and the Pidgeot as it rocketed forwards seemed to simply disregard the fact I was there too! It almost collided with me! I had to dive to the side just to avoid being hit! As I steadied myself on my feet once again, I heard Cairo squealing as he was knocked backwards! He flew back at least ten, maybe even twenty feet, his little face twisted in pain. He righted himself, but he looked worn down even from one attack. He was buzzing and droning weakly, his eyes already beginning to lid. I swore under my breath and bit my lip. "Quick, Cairo! Faint Attack!"

"Quick Attack!"

I wanted to let out a triumphant bellow as Cairo disappeared with speed that rivalled the incoming Pidgeot, slamming into it from behind and making the bird call out in a mixture of pain and surprise as it suddenly came under attack. While I knew the attack fell a little short on power and didn't seem to do much damage, it still ended up serving an excellent purpose. The attack distracted the Pidgeot long enough for Cairo to barrage it with a series of Dragonbreaths. The Dragonbreaths ripped across the Pidgeot's body, engulfing it and making it shriek in pain. I tensed as the onslaught slowed and Cairo eventually stopped his attacks. We both paused and watched the Pidgeot as its whole body shuddered, its feathers singed and burned, looking weakened. It looked like it was going to drop at any second. My heart thudded madly in my chest. I dared to hope. Had I done it?! Had I already done it?!

A triumphant look was spreading over Falkner's face though as he looked up at his weakened Pidgeot. "Don't look so confident!" he called out. "Pidgeot! Roost!"

I knew what this move was as soon as Falkner said the word. I knew what was going to happen before I even saw the Pokemon execute it. I wanted to scream out in frustration as the Pokemon regained health and spread its wings once again, looking rejuvenated and even more intimidating than it did before. I swallowed nervously and looked at Cairo. He looked exhausted and frightened in the face of his newly recuperated opponent. I wasn't sure he had enough energy in him to keep attacking, especially if Falkner's Pidgeot was just going to keep on using Roost to heal itself. I could already see this battle degenerating into an endless, frustrating cycle of Cairo attacking and the Pidgeot healing itself until Cairo was simply too weak to fight anymore, making him an easy target to be knocked out I couldn't let that happen! If I wanted any chance of winning then I had to take that Pidgeot out with a strong move and take it out _fast. _But did Cairo even _have _any moves that could do that? The only attacking moves Cairo knew were Sand Tomb, Faint Attack and Dragonbreath. Sand Tomb was completely ineffective on Flying types, and Faint Attack and Dragonbreath didn't have enough power behind them to do enough damage in simply one hit! What could I do?!

My mind raced with worst case scenarios and figments of badly formed strategies as I tried to put together some manner of battle plan. Nothing came to me, and my moment of fretting cost me dearly. On Falkner's instruction, the Pidgeot suddenly soared high into the sky, blotting out the light of the sun with its massive shadow. I took a wary step back. I realised what was going to happen far too late…

The Pidgeot suddenly dove forward, speeding towards the ground like a missile closing in on a target. I screamed for Cairo to move, dodge, do anything, but my little Vibrava either was too scared to move or simply couldn't. I yelled out in horror as the Pidgeot collided with Cairo, the two Pokemon slamming into the ground, causing such horrific vibrations that I had a frightening, sudden thought that poor Cairo had been squashed underneath the Pidgeot's bulk, and would be lying there, unconscious, all his bones broken or even worse. After knocking Vibrava to the ground, the Pidgeot flew away and left Cairo in a crumpled heap.

"Cairo!" I called out in fear.

I wanted to run to him, scoop him up in my arms, hold him protectively and defend him from any further attacks. But as instinct kicked in and my feet automatically began moving me forward, I suddenly saw Cairo twitch. He raised his weak head up to the sky and I could have sworn at that moment he was watching the Pidgeot as it slowly circled above us, with a strange sort of longing reflected in his beady eyes. The look in his eyes was so intense, so pure and so desperately sad that it stopped me straight in my tracks. He began buzzing weakly, his wings flapping furiously, but it was useless. Despite his best efforts he just simply couldn't move. He was grounded, too exhausted to even get airborne. He was still staring up at the Pidgeot flying effortlessly above us, looking… almost _jealous _I thought.

And then suddenly, the most amazing thing happened.

"Viiiiiiiii!"

With a frighteningly high pitched call, a bright light began filling the battlefield. I cried out in surprise as the light beamed across my vision, blinding me, sending dots and circles of fluorescent luminous colour dancing across my eyes. The light was so bright I could barely even see Cairo undergoing the change that evolution brought. I couldn't believe it! I just couldn't believe it! Cairo was _evolving_! I found myself backing away as the light continued to shine so brightly and so intensely for a few moments that I couldn't even look directly at it. Eventually, the light faded away entirely and a strange calm descended.

And at that moment, I heard a roar so loud and powerful it felt like it should have come from directly beside me and not halfway across the battlefield. I squeaked in surprise, and all of a sudden a flash of something dark streaked across my vision.

"N…no way!" I cried in shock as the magnificent silhouette soared above me, shooting skywards. As it sailed overhead, it blotted out the sun, casting a huge shadow on the battlefield. I squinted into the distance, finally identifying two different winged beasts high above us.

I focused on the unfamiliar shadow. My heart was beating faster and faster as I finally began to process what had just happened. Where there had once been a tiny little Vibrava, there was now a huge, intimidating silhouette of a magnificent Flygon. I staggered backwards, completely astonished and amazed at the sheer bulk and size of the newly evolved Cairo. The Pidgeot was hovering in midair, looking confused, as if trying to work out who this new opponent was and where it had come from. As I stood there gawping uselessly, my new Flygon suddenly powered towards the dazed Pidgeot, disappeared and then reappeared behind it, nailing it with an exceedingly powerful Faint Attack! The momentous force behind the attack sent the Pidgeot lurching forward, winding it momentarily. Evidently in pain, it shrieked and struggled to right itself while I stood there, still snared in the jaws of disbelief. I watched everything that went on in sheer and total amazement. Cairo was _strong_!

Falkner was also surveying Cairo's actions, looking both surprised and annoyed at the presence of a Flygon where a Vibrava had once been. "Evolution…" Falkner drew the word out slowly. "This has certainly set the Meowth among the Pidgey… but no matter! We can still fly! Pidgeot, Roost!"

I cursed. That move had caught me out once before. I wasn't going to let it catch me out again! "Cairo! Dragonbreath!"

I'd never anticipated the sheer difference in power of Cairo's Dragonbreath after evolution. I knew it was a strong attack, certainly Cairo's best move, and Elliot had told me that Dragon type moves always packed a punch, but I hadn't expected this! The brilliant flames Cairo spat forth roared with at least twice as much power, strength and reach than he had ever been able to produce when he was still a Vibrava. I cried out in shock as the Pidgeot shrieked in pain, encompassed by the attack.

"Pidgeot! Fight back!" Falkner cried as his Pokemon floundered.

"Come on, Cairo!" I willed. "Faint Attack!"

Cairo executed the attack brilliantly once again, slamming his full body weight straight into the Pidgeot. Cairo's sheer bulk was enough to send the Pidgeot hurtling forward towards the ground. It righted itself just before it hit the ground, looking pained and exhausted, barely even recognising the frantic commands Falkner was issuing. It managed to fly higher up again, but could only hover there for barely a moment before Cairo threw himself bodily at it again, dragging the bird Pokemon down at least ten feet, before blasting a Dragonbreath right at it! At that moment, my heart leapt to my mouth. The Pokemon were too high up in the air and against the harsh light of the sun, I couldn't see exactly what was happening.

But the next thing I knew, the Pidgeot was falling.

It was falling, and I half expected (and dreaded) it to suddenly right itself and fly away, but to my amazement it didn't. The Pidgeot plummeted to the ground and I found I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing. I forced my eyes to stay open, suddenly terrified that if I blinked, the whole thing would cease to exist. So I forced my eyes open until they watered, watching that Pidgeot fall down and down and down, before hitting the ground with such a force I felt it ripple through what felt like the entire of the battlefield. An awed gasp escaped me as the giant bird fell and didn't move again.

There was a long, painful silence.

"The winner is challenger Sienna Volbeda!"

I heard my friends cheering and all of a sudden, before I could even contemplate doing anything or even reacting, there was a massive thud as Cairo dropped to the ground next to me. I whipped around just in time for Cairo to shove his massive face into mine with what I could _swear _was a beaming cheeky grin across his face.

Elation hit me like a wave of water and a broad smile burst across my own face. "Cairo…!" I squealed, throwing my arms around his long neck. "You did it, boy! Well done!"

After hugging the life out of Cairo, I looked back at Falkner. He was looking despondent as he raised the Pokeball to recall his Pidgeot. "Damn… my father's cherished bird Pokemon…" he said sadly, before raising his head to look at me. "You're the first one to beat me since the Gym reopened, you know? Maybe I have a long way to go yet to become the best trainer…"

He suddenly strode up to me, passing something into my hand. I looked down to see a shiny badge reflecting back at me. "Take the Zephyr badge as proof of your win here. And oh, you can have this as well." He fumbled with the folds of his overcoat for a moment before pressing a disc shaped object into my other hand that I instantly recognised as some form of TM. "This is the TM for Roost. Teach it to a Flying type." He then grinned and touched Cairo gently. "Teach it to this guy, actually. He's a fine flyer."

"He is, isn't he?" I said, my chest feeling like it was about to burst from pride.

Falkner nodded, and moved away, stopping only briefly to look up at the stands. "Alright, I'm assuming some of you guys want to challenge me, too? Who's next?"

"Me!" Jasmine said, a little too enthusiastically, getting to her feet. "I'll battle you next."

"Very well, come down." Falkner told Jasmine.

As Jasmine made her way down the stands, Falkner nodded at me and I returned a grin. I stowed the badge in my pocket and slipped the TM into the over-the-shoulder bag I had slung on. The spoils of my win still echoed in my palms and I couldn't help but grin as my new Flygon butted his head into me affectionately.

"Look at you!" I grinned at Cairo, hugging him again, feeling so proud and happy that I could simply burst. "Well done!"

"Sienna!"

Someone was shouting my name and I looked up to see Jasmine stepping out onto the battlefield. She was smiling wryly, impatiently slicking back a tendril of her long blonde hair behind her ear. "You just gonna stay there? You'll get in my way."

"Sorry!" I called back sheepishly.

I recalled my new Flygon, still in shock, and quickly began making my way off the battlefield. It was never a good idea to get in the way or get involved in someone else's battle. Besides the obvious danger of getting hurt, I didn't want to disturb Jasmine or distract her attention. So taking the safe option, I immediately ran off the battlefield.

No sooner had I retreated to the relative safety of the battle sidelines, I felt a strange buzzing and vibrating come from my back pocket. I stood there, momentarily flummoxed and wondering what the hell was going on before common sense finally kicked in. I jammed my hand into the pocket and pulled out my phone which vibrating merrily from an incoming call. I checked the caller ID and I was surprised to see that it was my dad. At that point, alarm bells should have been ringing, but excitement and exhilaration had me in their clutches and any worries or concerns I had of anything being even _remotely _wrong were completely disregarded.

"Dad! Dad!" I cried into the phone no sooner had I clicked 'accept call'. My excitement was bubbling up like a geyser, desperate to be unleashed upon anyone that could be there to listen. "You'll never guess what!" I screeched, not even giving him the chance to respond. "I just beat Falkner! And I have three Gym Badges! Oh! Oh! And my Vibrava just evolved too! Into a Flygon! Isn't that awesome?!"

There was a silence at the end of the phone.

"Dad?!" I was still laughing from the excitement. "Dad, are you there? Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Sienna."

My dad's voice was solemn. My heart dropped to somewhere in my stomach and the excitement that had been encompassing me completely died away. "Wh… what?"

"Have you seen the news today?"

"N… no…" I admitted, running a hand through my hair, wondering what the hell he was getting at. "Why…?"

For a few moments, Dad didn't speak at all. All I could hear for those agonising moments was the sound of his heavy, ragged breathing. My heart started beating rapidly in my chest and my mouth went dry. When Dad eventually spoke, his voice was trembling. He spoke only one word.

"Nathan."

The one word he spoke was enough to send a chill of fear straight down my spine. Ice crystals burst all over my body and it seemed like all my limbs suddenly seized up. I wanted to speak, say something, say _anything _but I couldn't. A thousand incomprehensible thoughts slammed together in my mind and for that moment, I was completely incapable of anything. But then suddenly, my feet began to move and I was running. Adrenaline had totally taken me over and I was heading straight out of the battleground, my body completely on autopilot. As I ran, I vaguely registered someone yelling my name and the noises of Dad talking in my ear, but I disregarded them and pushed on.

The gym battleground became corridors, before melting only briefly into cold air and greenery before I burst through into the familiar surroundings of the Pokemon Centre. The place was practically deserted. No trainers were around. Not even the Nurse Joy was at her desk. I sprinted towards the communal television which was turned off. My hands were shaking as I lunged for the remote and snatched it up. It took me several attempts to turn the TV on and frantically punch in the channel number for the news.

When the news first flashed on, everything seemed calm and I dared for that one moment to hope and pray that everything was still alright. Then my eyes picked out a breaking news bulletin on the ticker tape running near the bottom on the screen…

"_And now we will remind you of our breaking news—"_

An image of Nathan suddenly flashed up onscreen. It was a recent photograph; a prison mugshot. All I had to see were those cold eyes and the prominent burn, a parting gift given to him by Nikki's Magby, and it was enough to send me into fits of terror. I wanted to scream, cry, pass out and throw up all at once and I staggered into a chair, feeling weak and shaky, tears pricking the corners of my eyes.

I only vaguely registered the newscaster speaking and I forced myself to pay attention, even though my body was trembling so much I could barely even hold my phone to my ear.

"—_the attack on the high security Hoenn prison took place only a few hours ago from an outside assailant. Preliminary reports indicate that the incident has been contained, however one criminal is suspected missing. Former member of Team Plasma, Nathan Clarke, remanded in custody eighteen months ago for his actions within Unova's most notorious criminal gang, and for additional charges of theft, grievous bodily harm and attempted murder, is suspected to be missing."_

At that moment it was like my whole world came to an end.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, this is it! This officially marks the beginning of the end. No more filler! **

**I apologise for the long wait for this chapter. I've had a lot of family commitments over the past week and a bit, but come Thursday, things should go back to normal. **

**Big thanks to my reviewers! **

**Shadow Wolf Hikaru, glad you enjoyed the GreenhornShipping fluff. I had fun writing that bit!**

**ArchXDeath, yeah, I do agree it was a wee bit drawn out, but I wanted to kinda slow the pace down cos it's gonna be quite fast-paced from now on if things work out the way I want them to. **

**WarriorSwift, Yes, you were totally right! You get a cookie! *gives cookie***

**Twisted diction, thank you! Glad you're enjoying it!**

**TCo BlackRoses, love your reviews as always. Thank you so much; hope this didn't disappoint too much. **

**TwewyReaperGirl, skirts and dresses, huh? I'm not normally one for them either but I've been wearing a lot more of them recently cos of a certain someone's influence (he'll kill me when he reads this) :P Thanks for the review! **

**Until next time, guys **


	37. Hysterics

I sat there, horrified, as the newscasters continued talking. My whole body was still shaking and my heart was banging painfully in my chest. I honestly didn't know what do do or say. For a moment, I found myself in total disbelief and feverishly denying what I was seeing right in front of me. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't...

The main newscaster was talking to another newscaster via a television screen to her right, looking stern and official as she questioned the other. _"Is there any information detailing how the attack took place_?"

The second newscaster was standing on a busy street somewhere, people and cars passing by her as she spoke, going on about their morning business as if nothing anywhere in the world could possibly be wrong. _"Eyewitness reports from the prison claim that the attack came totally unexpected and was carried out with remarkable efficiency. Only one assailant was suspected to be involved. The attack is reported to have been surprisingly peaceful; very little property was destroyed and no injuries were sustained, the prison guards knocked out or incapacitated. The head security guard of the prison suspects Nathan Clarke's high security cell had been opened with its own key and other prisoners within the cell block were completely ignored."_

"_Any clues to the identity of the attacker?_"

"_Very little information is available to use at the present time. However, according to one of the six prison guards that were incapacitated while the attack took place, the last thing he remembered was hearing a woman's voice._"

"_A woman's voice?_"

"_Indeed. Police suspect a woman is responsible and will now begin investigating the matter promptly. Clarke's whereabouts still remain unknown and prison guards remain busy sweeping the prison's perimeter in the hope of finding him."_

"_Is there any immediate danger to the residents of Hoenn?_"

"_The police have urged residents of Hoenn, particularly those in close proximity to the prison in Mossdeep City to remain vigilant and to avoid travelling alone, at night or without the protection of Pokemon if they can help it._"

The newscasters continued talking, but I had heard enough. I knew what had happened without needing to wait for any confirmation from police and I was deathly terrified. "Helene..." I croaked out, my voice practically evaporating into nothingness as I spoke. "She... She got to him, didn't she?"

I heard Dad sigh on the other end of the phone. "Yes..." He said, his voice solemn. "That is what I strongly believe, anyway."

I wanted to burst into tears, scream in frustration, throw up and have a tantrum all at once, just do anything to get rid of this swirling, swelling and bubbling mess of emotion that had me in its clutches.. I was overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness that even though I wanted to, I could do none of those things. Instead, I simply tried to moisten my lips enough to try and speak again. "Wh…what are we gonna do?"

"I don't know, Sienna," Dad said in a resigned manner. "I've already contacted your mother and told her about this."

"Mum?" I interrupted. "You told Mum? Why?"

"Think about it, Sienna." Dad's tone was grave. "If Nathan's out, what's gonna stop him from going after you?"

Just hearing him say that made fear stab right into the very depths of my being. "D-dad!" I shouted out, wishing he had never put that idea in my head, no matter how much I knew it to be truth.

"Sienna, that's the truth!" he suddenly snapped. "The fact of the matter, Sienna, is that he knows your address in Pallet Town! If he's out there, he might turn up at your house looking for you! And what if he finds that you're not there but he _does _find your mother? Your mother, Sienna! What's gonna happen if he goes after _her _too?!"

"Okay, okay! St…stop, please!" I cried into the phone, feeling hot, angry tears prick at the corner of my eyes. I didn't want to think about that. I didn't want to think about my mother being in danger, especially not by Nathan's hand. I took a deep breath and attempted to calm myself down. "So… so what do I do?"

There was a long silence at the other end of the phone. "I don't know."

"You don't _know_?!" I repeated shrilly.

"Sienna, I'm worried. About a lot of things. And one of the things I'm most worried about is the possibility that Nathan also has the dojo's address..."

"The dojo's… address?"

"Yes."

A horrible sense of dread and foreboding filled me and I struggled to keep my grip on the phone. "And that means...?" I whispered hoarsely, not even wanting to put forth any terrifying scenarios.

"I know Nathan." Dad suddenly said. "And I know the way his mind works. As much as I hate to admit this, I don't think you're going to be the one he goes after first.."

"Then… who is?"

"I think... I think I might be."

"You?!"

"Yes. I believe he thinks I betrayed him. That I was weak. And were it not for me, they would have succeeded. That's true. I guess in the end I did betray him and I did stop him, in a sense, from achieving what he wanted. So, I believe he wants to make _me _pay first."

"But that doesn't make any sense…" I whispered. "If he really wanted to hurt _you_, then surely it would make sense he would hurt me first..."

Dad was sighing wearily. "I considered that, Sienna, believe me."

"Yet you still think he's gonna go after you first?"

"Sienna… I think you might have it backwards…"

I frowned deeply. None of this was making any sense whatsoever and it was making my head hurt just thinking about it. "Backwards?"

"I think Nathan might want to hurt me first to hurt you."

He said it so calmly and so matter-of-factly it was like he was reading something from a dictionary. My heart plummeted to somewhere in my stomach. "But that would mean…"

"Yes… You might not be his first priority, but I do think you're his _prime _priority. Sienna… I believe this man wants to hurt you. Badly."

"Oh God…" my whole body began violently trembling. "What… what do I do…?"

"You need to get away from Johto, Sienna."

"What?!"

"If Nathan's coming to Johto to come after me, then you need to get as far away from here as possible."

"What, no!" I protested at once. "I can't do that! I can't leave you!"

"Sienna, listen. I'm going to close down the dojo—"

"Good! Then you can get _away _from that madman!"

"…and wait for him."

"What?!" I cried out in terror. "Are you crazy?! You can't do that!"

"I have to."

"Why?"

"To give you enough time to get away."

"I won't do that!" I cried as defiantly as I could.

"Why not?" I could hear him beginning to lose patience and become angry, but I honestly didn't care anymore.

"I won't leave you as _bait _for those two to come after you!"

"Sienna—"

"No!" I cried out, eventually losing what little grip on my emotions I had. "I'm coming over to Goldenrod City _now_! If Nathan is coming for you, I'll be there waiting for him too!"

"Sienna, I forbid it!"

"Well too bad you can't tell me what to do!" I yelled, standing upright out of pure temper just as I became aware of the door to the Pokemon Centre suddenly swinging open. "I'm going to Goldenrod and don't you dare try and stop me!"

Still shaking with a violent cocktail of fear and anger, I stabbed at my phone to end the call. I then turned towards the door that I had seen open. Elliot was standing there, looking slightly haggard and out of breath. "Sienna! What the hell?! Why did you—?"

I saw his eyes momentarily travel past my shoulder and then he stopped completely in his tracks. His whole face fell and was replaced with a look of abject horror. I could only assume Nathan's picture was still on the television, and as I turned around out of curiosity to look, my fears were confirmed. He stopped to listen to the report that was still being broadcast for a few moments, slowly being encompassed by a look of fear.

"Sienna…"

"I know, I know!" I said thickly, slapping my hands uselessly against my thighs. "They think he's gotten out… No, that he's been _busted _out." I spat the word out with such vehemence, hating the way it sounded. It tasted like poison on my tongue.

"You think it could be Helene…?"

"That's what Dad thinks…" I said, my voice choked.

"Is that who you were talking to…?"

"Y-yeah…" I hiccupped, suddenly finding it increasingly difficult to keep my emotions in control. "Oh God, Elliot, what's going to happen…? He could… he could go after my mum in Pallet Town. Or he could come after us…"

"Sienna," Elliot reached out and pulled me into a comforting hug. "It'll be okay—"

"How can you say that?!" I cried, shoving Elliot away as hard as I could. "He's _dangerous, _Elliot! D…Dad already said that… Oh God… that he might go to Goldenrod after _him_."

"Wait, after your dad?"

"Yes!" I cried tearfully. "Dad thinks Nathan wants to hurt me! And that… he'll try to hurt me by going after Dad."

"Oh God, Sienna…" Elliot looked horrified. "You think he will?"

"I… I don't know!" I said, hysterical tears beginning to spill over onto my cheeks. "I don't know, Elliot, I just don't know!"

At that point, I had gone beyond the point of no return and I began to sob, my whole body heaving in pain with each anguished howl that escaped. My legs felt weak and gave way underneath me, but I only vaguely registered falling to the ground. I heard Elliot cry out as my body touched cool floor and then I was wrapped in his arms and held as I began to sob uncontrollably.

It took me what felt like hours to calm down. When Elliot eventually had me calmed the first time, Jasmine and Nikki came back from the Gym, fresh from Jasmine's victory. When they saw me upset, the whole story came out again and the tears came back with an unwelcome, cruel vengeance. Later on in the day when Bailey and Scott came back, also both clutching badges, they also made the fatal error of inquiring as to what had happened. By this point I was beyond speaking, beyond even forming a coherent thought and merely sobbed into Nikki's shoulder until Elliot finished explaining.

As things eventually calmed and I managed to have control over my own thoughts and voice again, I pushed myself out of Nikki's comforting hug and spoke up again. "I… I have to go to Goldenrod…"

"You can't, Sienna." Elliot told me softly, leaning across to hold my hand. "You could walk right into his trap…"

"B… but…" I protested weakly. "My dad…"

I pulled my hand out of Elliot's and found myself fingering the red beaded bracelet my father had given me. There hadn't been a day since I got it that I had removed it and right now I was squeezing the beads so hard I was suddenly terrified I would snap it. Elliot seemed to think the same and put a comforting hand over mine. "Easy, Sienna…" he murmured.

"I just… I just can't leave him there alone. What if he gets hurt…?"

"But what if they go to Pallet Town first? Go looking for you there? Nathan _does _know where you live, right? And surely, if he really wanted to hurt you, he'd…"

"No…" I said slowly. "Don't ask me why, but I really think he's gonna go after my father…"

"Why would he go after your father to hurt you?"

"I don't know, I don't know!" I said, feeling myself already starting to board on hysterical again. "But I _need _to go to Goldenrod. I need to make sure he's alright."

"I agree with Sienna." I heard Bailey say and I looked up to see him looking deathly scared, his chubby face white. "I… I want to make sure Cal's okay too…"

I looked up to Bailey gratefully before looking at the others, resolve swelling up in me fiercely. "I don't care what you guys think or do. But I'll go to Goldenrod by _myself _if none of you want to come! I'll take Cairo and I'll go by myself."

"Don't be stupid, Sienna." Jasmine said at once. "You can't go by yourself."

"I will if none of you will come with me."

"Sienna…" I heard Nikki whisper as she put her hand on my arm. The contact made me jump slightly. "We won't let you go on your own. We'll… we'll go with you."

I frowned. "You will?"

"Yeah." She murmured. "We might not agree with you, or even think you're right… but we're your friends. We have your back."

"And we're certainly not gonna let you walk straight into danger while we sit around twiddling our thumbs." Jasmine added, poking her finger straight into my chest.

"Or have fun without us." Scott added, a hint of a smile adorning his normally aloof face.

Bailey was nodding. "Yeah. We'll help you out any way we can."

At this point, Elliot kneeled down next to me. "We're with you, Sienna. We stopped this guy once before." He said solemnly, looking around all of us in turn. "We can stop him again, right?"

Everyone nodded firmly, whilst I sat there completely at a loss of what to do or say. My emotions swelled within me, and I started to cry again, so moved and grateful for their support. It was times like this that I was so glad for the people in my life and knowing that no matter what I did or what happened, they'd always be there for me...

We left Violet City that day. We realised that the quickest way to get to Goldenrod was to fly, but that threw up its own set of problems. We weren't at all far from Goldenrod, considering Violet was one of its closest neighbouring cities, but I didn't want to waste time. Part of me knew that if Nathan really had escaped from that prison in Hoenn, it could likely take him a long time to travel all the way from one region to another, but I didn't want to take any risks. I wanted to be there as soon as possible just in case something bad happened. So, no sooner had we packed and gotten our things together, we were standing outside, trying to figure out the best way to co-ordinate things.

Our main problem was lack of transportation. There were six of us but only three Flying Pokemon big and strong enough to carry anyone; my Cairo, Elliot's Tropius and Scott's Pidgeot. Cairo had also never flown before with a rider, so I didn't want to risk pushing him too hard in case he couldn't handle it. We also had a problem in regard to Bailey… He was a big guy, that wasn't to be disputed and we were worried not many of the Pokemon would be able to support his weight. I could see Bailey's face twist in embarrassment and horror as Scott explained bluntly that his Pidgeot likely couldn't take Bailey's weight alongside his own. At one point, Nikki had a bright idea and attempted to rectify the situation by phoning Christian and asking to borrow his trusted Staraptor, but she could only get in touch with his agent. She eventually found out that Christian was caught up in the preliminary rounds of a contest and couldn't come to the phone for at least a couple of hours, leaving us still hopelessly stuck…

Jasmine seemed particularly annoyed and displeased at the whole situation. "I can't believe this…" she said, over and over again, shooting daggers and accusing looks in Bailey's direction.

"Jasmine, getting angry at Bailey won't help." I told her as snippily as I could. "We'll figure out a way around it!"

In the end, after a full half an hour of trying to work things out and performing several experiments as to how to best balance and distribute riders and Pokemon, we finally had a solution. Nikki, who was easily the lightest out of everyone, came on Cairo with me, Tropius was strong enough to support Bailey by himself, and Pidgeot took Scott and Jasmine. Elliot, after what felt like hours of trying, eventually got in contact with Lance and after what sounded suspiciously like bribery and blackmail, secured a couple of days loan of one of his brother's Dragonites.

So, eventually, as the afternoon began drawing to a close, the four winged Pokemon took off into the sky, our sights set on Goldenrod City. Elliot and Dragonite soared ahead, our unofficial navigators, followed by Scott, Jasmine and Pidgeot. Cairo, Nikki and I kept a comfortable pace behind them. I didn't want to push Cairo too much, after all. He was a rather unsteady flier at first, evidently still unused to his new size, bulk and wings. If this were any other situation, I would never have ridden him so soon or so far, and certainly not with anyone else. But what could I do? This was an emergency. I hated doing this to Cairo, but I had no other option. Thankfully, after a shaky start, he seemed to find his rhythm and soared adeptly through the sky like he'd been ridden all his life.

Elliot's Tropius however was having more trouble. Bailey's weight was obviously difficult for him to cope with, and his flight was slow and slightly erratic. This was made all the more frustrating by the fact that the journey to Goldenrod would be long, at least a full day's flight, and the Pokemon would need frequent rests.

We stopped travelling as night fell. Elliot wasn't confident about leading everyone in the darkness in case he lead us in the wrong direction, and the Pokemon were exhausted, particularly Tropius. I felt horrible for poor Bailey who looked so sheepish and upset, and who frequently kept apologising to Tropius and the whole group for this. I comforted him the best I could, but this situation wasn't best helped by Jasmine who snapped at him constantly as we built a fire and got tents set up.

"Gee, I really am sorry…" Bailey said for what felt like the thousandth time as he stared guiltily at the food we were all eating that night around the fire.

"Bailey, it's alright." I told him firmly. "We'll get to Goldenrod sooner or later. Besides… Nathan, if he really is out, there's a good chance that he's still in Hoenn. It could take him days to get to Goldenrod. A week even. So it's okay, don't worry."

"I don't think it's okay." Jasmine muttered traitorously from next to me.

"Nobody asked you!" I said through fiercely gritted teeth.

Jasmine glared at Bailey over the fire and shook her head pointedly, while I inwardly fumed. Trying to defuse the situation, I spoke to Elliot instead, who was tuned into the little radio on his mobile phone, trying to get the news to come up. As he eventually got it working, a news bulletin flashed in.

"_And now we return to our top story of the day. It has been confirmed that after the attack on the maximum security prison in Hoenn that inmate Nathan Clarke is missing._"

"Turn that off." I said at once.

"Huh?" Elliot said, looking up at me. "I… I thought you'd want to know…"

"I didn't need to wait for any confirmation on the news, Elliot…" I sighed, putting my head in my hands. "I knew. Call me crazy, but I had a terrible feeling that ever since Dad told me about that Helene woman that something like this would happen. And right now, I don't wanna think about any of this."

"Alright…" Elliot said with a sigh, turning off the radio. The place descended into abrupt, awkward quiet.

The night passed agonisingly slowly. One by one, everyone gave in and went to sleep. Nikki first, followed by Bailey about half an hour later. Scott reluctantly also fell asleep some time later, leaving Elliot, myself and Jasmine in what seemed like a face off to see who'd be the last person standing. I remained stubbornly awake, staring at the ground. Part of me didn't want to sleep, even though I knew I needed to. I knew that if I tried to sleep, my mind would totally overwhelm me with all the horrible thoughts I'd been trying so hard to keep at bay. So I forced myself to stay awake although my body and mind ached with the sheer effort and I became so frustrated that I probably would have snapped at someone for looking at me the wrong way...

Elliot sighed and gave up as it got close to midnight, but Jasmine was also still awake, staring deeply into space. Every now and again though, when she thought I wasn't watching, I caught her glancing over at our sleeping friends all huddled up in the corner. Illuminated by the glowing orange of the fire, I saw her phosphorescent eyes just linger a little too long on Bailey's slumbering figure.

Frowning, I eased myself forward and moved closer to the fire, took up a stick and began poking uselessly at the burning embers of the fire. I waited a few moments before eventually trusting myself to speak.

"I don't get it, Jazz."

"Huh?" Jasmine looked up, a look of confusion painted over her face. "Get what?"

"Bailey," I said, throwing the stick down.

"Bailey?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. "Why are you asking about Bailey? Especially with this whole thing about Nathan and Helene. God, that's the last thing you should be asking about."

"I _should _be asking about it." I said firmly. "When it affects people in this group, when it affects… group harmony or whatever, then yeah, I should ask about it. Don't you think I have enough on my plate to deal with right now without having to put up with you sniping at him all the time? So I wanna know what's going on _now_. Why do you hate him so much?"

She looked away. "I don't hate him."

"Please." I snorted. "Jasmine, you're _weird _around him. Sometimes you're practically foaming at the mouth with anger whenever he so much as _talks _to you, but sometimes you're okay with him. Like in Union Cave! I thought you were okay with him after he practically saved your _life_! But now you're bitching at him again. What the hell is going on with you and him?" I paused. "Is it because of the way he looks? Because he's… big?"

"No," she said at once.

"No?" I repeated sceptically. "Jasmine, I know you. I know you care about appearances, both your own and everyone else's. That's not a bad thing!" I added hastily when she glared at me. "I'm not criticising," I remedied. "But I just don't understand why you're so particularly nasty to _him _and the only reason I can think of is because of the way he looks! So what's the deal?"

She sighed, sinking her head into her hands, long tendrils of hair obstructing any good view of her face. "Look, I don't know. But it just… it kind of makes me angry to see him… the way he is."

"What?!" I said, exasperated. "What are you talking about?"

"Have you actually looked at him? Taken a _really _good look at him? He's actually quite… Oh God, I can't believe I'm saying this…"

"Saying what?"

Jasmine removed her head from the sieve of her hands and looked at me reproachfully. She let out a deep exhale, ruffling the fronds of hair falling over her forehead. "He's… he's actually quite nice-looking…" she said quietly.

My mouth hung open. What she had just said was quite easily the most shocking thing I had ever heard Jasmine say. "You what?"

"Oh, you heard me… Don't make me say it again." There was an angry, bright red blush over Jasmine's face and she was looking away from me.

I took a few moments to digest this quite shocking information. Jasmine actually considered Bailey nice-looking? As I thought about it, I was able to see her point. Bailey was a big guy, that was for sure, but he had at least a well-porportioned figure and a very strong, masculine look. Even despite a chubby face, he had a strong, pronounced jaw, well rounded eyes and effortlessly messy hair in a style that sent a lot of girls squealing like schoolgirls. And even I, a taken woman, had to admit that Bailey had a gorgeous smile.

"Yeah, I do actually see your point." I nodded. "But if you actually think he's nice looking, why the hell are you so nasty to him sometimes?"

Jasmine sighed, looking uncomfortable. "You know how I come from a rich family?"

I nodded.

"Mum and Dad never wanted me to go off and become a Pokemon trainer. I've told you that before, so I don't need to say any more. I know, I know, this sounds like your typical 'poor little rich girl can't go out and do what she wants' cliché crap, but hear me out?"

"Sure."

"They wanted me to go to university, get a degree, become a… businesswoman of all things, make a lot of money, settle down, get married and have kids. They practically have my life planned out. _Especially _when it comes to getting married."

I frowned at the picture Jasmine was painting. It sounded like an absolute nightmare scenario...

"Even I have to admit my parents are really superficial." Jasmine said, running a hand through her long blonde hair. "I mean, I'm superficial. I know I am! I know I put too much on looks and appearances when I really shouldn't. But that's just how I am. My parents raised me to care about the way I looked, to think that pretty people and skinny people are successful people. They also expect me to marry a handsome man."

"I don't get what this has to do with Bailey."

"When I met him, yeah, I'll admit, I was a bit of a bitch to him. I guess I had the idea that fat people were just lazy slobs that didn't do anything worthwhile. But getting to know Bailey… it was like everything I had ever thought about fat people went straight out the window. You know, how he helped his Dad look after his brothers. And then how he turned out to be so _nice. _Even after I was a bitch to him, he still acted really nice to me."

"I think that's just how he is," I pointed out slowly.

For a moment, Jasmine looked like she was wrestling with something. "Listen, if I tell you something, will you keep it a secret?"

I blinked at her. "Jasmine, you shouldn't have to ask. I'm your friend."

She sighed, swallowed hard, clasped her hands together and eventually spat out "I like Bailey."

"You do!?"

"Yeah. I do. I _really _do. He's such a nice guy! He's not like all the other guys I've met. He's not the kind of guy that treats girls like objects."

"So, I don't get it. If you really like him as much as you do, why do you act like you can't stand him?"

"Because I know my parents would never approve…"

"Are you serious?"

"You don't know them, Sienna. You don't know how controlling they are. You don't know what they expect of me…"

"Jasmine… I think if you were happy, they'd be happy for you."

"No, they wouldn't… Look, I went out with a guy in high school. He wasn't good looking. He had a squashed nose and a funny face and was waaaaay too skinny for it to be healthy. He was also a goth and dressed in a lot of black and leather, like those rogue trainers. Mum and Dad took one look at him and told me I could do better, and to break up with him."

"Oh, Jazz!"

"So… I guess with Bailey… I try and act like I don't like him. Like I figure if I tell myself enough times that he's fat and unattractive I won't like him. But…" her hands tensed around her knees and her head dropped. "It's not working! I still like him, and he probably thinks I'm a total bitch! It's not fair, Sienna!"

And then to my abject horror, Jasmine did something I have never seen her do. She started to cry.

I faltered for a moment, completely at a loss for what to do. I reached out hesitantly, before drawing her into a hug. I thought she'd stop and calm down, but she didn't. So I couldn't do anything but to hold onto her while she sobbed. I stroked her blonde hair, trying to be comforting, trying to soothe her.

"It's not too late, you know?" I whispered. "I think… I think Bailey still likes you."

"How do you know?" She said thickly.

"Because he told me. I think he likes you, Jazz. You just need to show him you like him back, okay?" I found what I was saying a little embarrassing to say, like I was a thirteen year old girl giving advice she was simply reading out of a gossip magazine to her best friend. But if it helped Jazz, I'd do it..

"How do I do that?"

I smiled. "Just be yourself. Not the bitchy superficial girl your parents want you to be. The _real _you. The real Jasmine that Nikki and I know and love. Okay?"

"Okay..." She murmured. "I'll try."

"That's my girl." I nodded, before patting her firmly on the back. "Now come on, go to sleep. It's late. We have a long day tomorrow."

"Are you going to sleep?" Jasmine asked at once.

I wanted to say no, that I'd go to sleep later, but seeing the sad look in her eye, I relented. "Yeah."

We lay down next to each other, pulling a blanket over us. It was a surprisingly cold night and without the comforting warmth of the fire, my teeth soon began chattering and goosebumps flared up all over my skin. Despite the cold and rather uncomfortable ground, Jasmine was asleep within minutes, but I lay awake staring at the sky and stars long into the early hours of the morning...

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well here's an update for you. :D**

**I'm gonna try and go on a writing frenzy to get as much as I can finished :) Now that I'm writing the end, I'd like to get it done as soon as possible :)**

**Next chapter comes a frightening development in regard to the plot xP**

**Thanks to my reviewers, ArchXDeath, I have a dictionary here, Shadow Serenity 57, The Neverending Meep, WarriorSwift, TwewyReaperGirl and imv16. Sorry I can't do personal replies this time, I'm kinda exhausted xP Next chapter, I promise.**

**Until next time! Please drop a review!**


	38. The Calling

I felt like I had only closed my eyes for a few measly seconds before it was morning, light was invading the comforting blackness of my consciousness and someone was shaking me in an attempt to rouse me. My eyes felt like they were practically glued together with the grains of sleep and I didn't want to open them at all. Very grudgingly, I forced them open and I looked up into the hazy pink sky. I groaned immediately from the bright light, sheilding my face. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep. But Elliot was kneeling down next to me, shaking me softly. He was impossible to ignore.

"Come on, sleepyhead." Elliot said, in an irritating sing-song voice I likened to the trill of a mother getting her children up for school.

"No..." I protested, vaguely hitting out at him but missing spectacularly, my hand thudding into the earth. "I'm tired..."

"I know you're tired," he said, reaching under the blanket to hold my spare hand. He gave it a comforting squeeze. "Though it is kinda what you get for staying up till stupid o'clock in the morning."

"Mmmmm!" I murmured in protest, wanting to stick my tongue out, but finding I was too tired to do so. Instead I compensated by pulling the blankets over my head and blocking him out.

Elliot chuckled, before plucking the blanket off my face and smiling down at me. As I watched him, he suddenly reached out to me. I anticipated a hug; he was always very fond of hugs, after all, but before I knew what was happening, one of his arms had found its way under my back and the other was slotted under my legs. I barely got a chance to squeal in surprise before my body left the uncomfortable ground and I was in the air, lifted into Elliot's arms, blankets and all.

I shrieked. "Elliot! Wh... What are you doing?"

"Waking you up." He said with a cheeky grin.

I flailed uselessly in his arms, squealing and completely helpless. I heard laughter coming from nearby and saw Bailey and Nikki doubled over laughing as I kicked and screamed and protested. My face burned in sheer embarrassment as Elliot held me aloft, but despite how much I struggled and hit out, he kept a firm grip on me.

"Woken up yet?" He teased.

"Yes!" I gasped, still struggling.

"Alright," he grinned, before suddenly loosening his grip on me. I shrieked, feeling my body plummet downwards. Terrified I was going to fall and tumble to the ground, my hands grasped for anything solid I could grab on to. But with a burst of laughter, Elliot's grip tightened around me again and I was right back into his solid embrace.

He was grinning wickedly as he set me back onto my feet and that only served to make my temper flare. "Elliot Alexander Wood, I am going to _murder _you!" I cried, attempting to disentangle myself from the blankets, but failing miserably.

Elliot was still laughing. "Aww, but that would defeat the purpose."

I grumbled angrily at him, before balling up the blankets I had finally pulled off myself and chucking them at him as hard as I could. He caught the bundled up blankets effortlessly, still grinning. He threw them back and they hit my face, before being caught by a gust of wind and scattering over the campsite. I groaned in despair as I watched them fly off in every direction.

Elliot chuckled again, before becoming serious once more."Get ready. We should leave soon."

I made a face behind his back when he wasn't looking, which made Nikki and Bailey collapse into yet more loud giggles. I caught sight of Scott shaking his head in a weary manner as he gathered his things together and began packing them away patiently. I smiled weakly at Bailey and Nikki and quickly busied myself getting ready and rescuing the blankets that looked like they were making a bid for freedom halfway across the campsite. As I packed, a blonde head in my peripheral vision caught my attention and I looked up to see Jasmine nervously approach Bailey and begin to engage him in conversation. She was smiling sheepishly and her gestures were highly animated, almost like violent twitches. I grinned to myself. She was obviously nervous. Bailey, who had initially looked quite taken aback to be spoken to by Jasmine was now smiling broadly as they talked.

"_How cute…_" I thought to myself happily, instantly feeling my mood lift.

After making sure our makeshift camp site was completely cleared away, we were off again. Elliot conducted the whole proceeding like a military operation, even drawing up an itinerary of when we should eat, rest and where _exactly _we should be at every hour of the day. This drew a few teasing comments from Jasmine, but Elliot dismissed them at once, explaining that getting there as fast as we could was vital. I agreed with him, and not for the first time since I'd started this journey, I was so glad he was here with us.

The beginning of the day passed exactly as Elliot wanted to. We flew for an hour or so with little incident, stopping as it hit mid-morning in a little town for breakfast. After eating, we stretched our legs around what the little town had to offer, picked up some basic supplies and were quickly on our way again. We were flying over a lot of forestry, so there wasn't very much interesting to look at or do as we continued to fly.

Afternoon came, and as the sun became very warm and impossibly bright, we landed again in a small clearing to eat lunch. We rested for at least a full hour this time, returning the fliers to their Pokeballs for a proper rest. Lunch was a rather relaxed affair as Bailey cooked us a proper soup, aided by the fire that Nikki's Ninetails conjured up. I wasn't even sure what kind of ingredients or vegetables he used, as Bailey was oddly secretive about his cooking, but it turned out delicious and I had to fight to stop myself licking out the bowl. Even Jasmine, who I knew to be particularly fussy about her food inhaled hers with big chunks of bread and told Bailey it was 'delicious'. The look of sheer delight on his face at her genuine compliment warmed my heart.

But just as we were going to head off for the afternoon's flight, we encountered a problem. It began to rain. At first, it was only spits and spots, barely noticeable, but after about five minutes of that, the heavens suddenly opened and we were caught in a downpour. Shrieking, we all recalled our Pokemon and ducked for cover wherever we could find it. I prayed for all I was worth that the rain would stop quickly, but it didn't. As if to spite me it rained for hours. With little else to do but feel frustrated, we had to simply sit under the relative shelter of the trees and wait for it to pass. It was freezing, the ground was wet and uncomfortable and the rain was still able to fall through the leaves, slowly soaking us straight to the bone.

The rain didn't let up until the evening. Thoroughly soaked and sodden, knowing we couldn't go anywhere until the rain stopped, I was in a foul mood, constantly snipping at anyone who dared speak to me, and cursing the rain for all I was worth. But my cursing went unheeded and the rain still stubbornly fell. With nothing to do but sit under what limited shelter we had and wait it out, it was fair to say our tempers were frayed.

The rain finally began letting up as it approached five o'clock. As Elliot tentatively stepped out from under the tree he'd used as shelter, he frowned.

"There's no way we can fly now." He said, looking up at the gloomy sky that was nothing more than slabs of grey, all swirled together like barely mixed paint. "We're better off going and finding a Pokemon Centre now and starting off again in the morning."

This was the last thing I wanted to hear. Anger swelled within me and I instantly wanted to go off in a mad tantrum. As it threatened to bubble out, it was only by Nikki looking worridly at me as she saw my face change that managed to stop me. I let out a resigned sigh, forcefully swallowed down my anger and squashed it, knowing that it wasn't going to help anything.

We mounted our Flying types and flew off in search of a Pokemon Centre to stay in for the rest of the night. Luckily our flight was short as eagle-eyed Elliot spotted a Pokemon Centre a little further down the route. The place was totally devoid of other trainer and Pokemon life apart from us, the kindly nurse on duty explaining that not many people passed through this particular route through to Goldenrod.

The night passed horrendously slowly, not helped by the fact Jasmine began snoring loudly just as soon as I felt I could drop off to sleep. With little other option but to remain awake, I stared up at the ceiling, frustrated, thinking deeply, my temper frayed and fighting not to cry until the first rays of sunlight began inching up from the horizon.

I was irritable throughout the entire morning and wouldn't allow myself to be cheered up, despite Nikki, Elliot and Bailey's best efforts. I ate moodily, spooning up my cereal, not even caring that I was slopping half of it over me. I could hear a worried Nikki inquiring after me to Elliot but I wasn't even bothered about their concern. I was frustrated, tired and worried to death. I had phoned my mother during the course of the previous night and made her promise to be safe and to be vigilant in case Nathan turned up at the house looking for her. I was deathly concerned about her, every time I thought of her name or her face I was mercilessly attacked by stabs of worry and fear. Some part of me still doubted that Nathan would go to Pallet Town first, but I was still scared. I had gone through most of my life trusting and acting on my intuition, and I hadn't often been wrong. However, I was terrified that this time I would be wrong and the consequences of being wrong would jeopardise the safety and well-being of someone I loved dearly...

We left the Pokemon Centre no sooner had we finished breakfast. The day was a lot clearer with not a rain cloud in sight, but it had rained through the night, leaving the ground soggy and an odd chill in the air. Everything smelled strongly of rain and the moisture in the air made me shiver. As Cairo pushed off into the air, the freezing winds buffeting my face had a sobering effect on me and as I took in lungfuls of the bitter cold air, it had an odd calming effect on me.

We stopped at midday for lunch, and despite the fact I was practically dropping from tiredness, the freezing air had had been like the proverbial slap in the face and I realised how stupid and childish I had been. As such, I tried to be cheerful and talk with the others when we dropped back down to the ground. The effort I did put in seemed to be appreciated and Elliot spent the whole hour we stopped to rest practically glued to me. At first, I found I didn't quite want him there while I was still irritable, but after a little while, I grew accustomed to his comforting, warm presence and ended up pulling him back to sit with me every time he got up to move and check on Pokemon or our things.

I was starting to feel oddly more relaxed as I pulled myself up onto Cairo's back and mounted him in preparation for the next period of flying. Elliot had predicted that if we kept a steady pace, we would arrive at Goldenrod City before nightfall, and I felt a lot more at ease now with the comforting knowledge that we were close and would be there soon. But as I straddled Cairo and prepared him for take off, just as Nikki hoped on behind me, my phone started to ring.

I fished it out, heart hammering in my chest, filled inexplicably with panic and trembling all over. However, as I realised that it was Dad phoning, I sighed with relief, feeling instantly calmer. Dad had been phoning frequently to check in and make sure I was safe. You might be surprised to know that it was me who had insisted on him keeping in regular contact. I wanted to make sure _he _was safe too. So, feeling a lot more relaxed and suspecting that Dad was simply checking in with me, I let out a long exhale and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

There was silence on the end of the phone.

"...dad?"

Still silence.

"Daaaaad?" I said in a sing-song voice. "Helloooo?"

Nothing.

"...dad?" I tried again, checking the phone screen. I had a full signal, and I knew Dad was phoning from the landline at the dojo, so there shouldn't have been any connection problems. "Dad?" I tried again, raising my voice.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elliot frowning as he mounted Lance's Dragonite. Trying to ignore the concerned look he was shooting me, and also trying to squash the rising panic firmly down the silence at the end of the phone still continued. I couldn't understand this whatsoever and I found myself checking that the call was still connected at least ten times. "Dad?" I said, my voice beginning to sound hoarse.

And then I heard breathing. Slow, hard breathing. A shock of icy cold fear shot through me, paralysing my limbs. "Dad...? Are you there?"

I heard a soft, malevolent chuckle sound at the other end of the phone. It sounded sinister, like the cackle of an evil spirit.

"Who's there?!"

The chuckle came again. "...hello, love."

No sooner did the words sound out, my entire body seized up in sheer and unmitigated horror. I recognised that thick, almost unrecognisable accent straight away. I could never and would never forget that slippery voice, dripping with venom and dancing with a devious, sadistic enjoyment that came with inspiring fear.

"Nathan!"

"Hello, Sienna Volbeda."

"Nathan! What are you doing?!"

"Talking to you, of course, you silly girl." He said coolly, but there was a hardened, stony edge to his voice that I didn't like at all. "How nice... and _welcoming _to hear that pretty voice of yours after all this time."

My skin crawled with repulsion. "Sh...shut up! Where's my dad?! Is he safe?!"

"Oh yes, he's quite safe. So far." He said casually. "In fact, he doesn't even know I'm here yet."

"What...?!"

"Yes," I could practically _hear _the sinister smile in his voice. "I knew as soon as I left Hoenn I simply _had _to pay your father a little surprise visit. We have _so _much to discuss, you know? Not least the fact that he betrayed me..."

'You leave him alone!"

"Oh? Now this is an interesting development..." Nathan chuckled deviously to himself. "You sound almost...concerned about your dear father, Sienna. And yet, two years ago, you hated him. What's changed?"

I hadn't anticipated this track of questioning, and its unexpectedness had me floored and completely tongue-tied. "Uh..."

"Your father is a monster, Sienna. You know this. Abusive. Power-hungry. A villainous, evil, heinous monster. I've heard about his claims to have changed from a very reliable source, and I'm here to tell you that it's a front. A mask. A disguise! He hides his true persona and feelings! He hides behind that dojo and all the 'good' he claims to do. Whereas you know as well as I do that one slight temptation, one slight push in the wrong direction, he'll go right back to where he started. He doesn't love you, Sienna. He's not a father to you. He's a monster!"

Tears were running down my face with every word Nathan spat forward. "No!" I cried at once. "He's not the monster, Nathan! You are!"

Silence.

"Nathan?!"

"I may be a monster, but I'm honest about what I am." Nathan's voice was icy. "Your father is deluding himself. He may be stupid enough to believe he's changed, you may be stupid enough to believe he's changed, heck, the rest of the world is stupid enough to believe he's changed, but I'm not. He'll hide away in this 'Free Spirits' dojo for six months, a year at most, deluding himself he's helping change lives and making up for not being a father to you..."

I took in a sharp breath.

"He'll hide away, denying what he knows he ultimately wants. And it'll slowly eat away at him, spreading like a cancer. Soon, it'll get the better of him. And then the at first sniff of a chance to gain power, he'll go running back to his old ways!"

"He won't!"

"And you're so sure of this, are you?"

"W...well..."

"You're a fool if you think he's changed." Nathan said firmly. "An absolute fool."

"He...he _has _changed..."

"No. He's not. And he never will. One chance for fame, glory and power and he'll go right back to his old ways. And I can't have a man like that standing in my way."

I cried out instinctively, gripping the phone so hard that I feared it would suddenly snap in two. "Nathan..."

"Goodbye, Sienna Volbeda..."

"Nathan...!"

"...I will be seeing you again."

There was a click as the call was disconnected.

"Nathan!" I screeched, but the phone had already gone dead.

For a moment, I simply stared at the phone, utterly incapable of speech or movement. Only my brain seemed to be working. Even that, however, was making barely any sense. All it could do was scream inwardly, any traces of coherent thoughts disintegrating immediately.

"Sienna!" Elliot's voice somehow punctuated my hazy consciousness. "What's going on? Was that...?" He broke off, looking like he didn't even want to say the name.

As I spoke, I realised I was still crying, the tears flowing thick and heavy down my cheeks. I could taste their saltiness the second I opened my mouth. "Nathan... He's at the Free Spirits dojo!"

"What?!"

"He's there right now! He phoned me from inside the dojo! And Dad doesn't know he's there!"

"Oh my God..." I heard Nikki say behind me.

"We have to get there now!" I cried. "He could... He could hurt my dad...!"

"Or worse." Scott suddenly said.

"I know!" I cried. "We have to go now!"

Without even waiting for the others to react, I kicked Cairo into action and we had shot into the air. Nikki shrieked at the sudden movement and grabbed me in fright, almost pulling the two of us off-balance. I was only just able to seize Cairo's neck and pull us back into an upright position, otherwise we would both have ended up falling at least ten feet onto the hard ground. A shot of adrenaline took hold of me and I squeezed Cairo, begging him to go faster as we began our ascent into the air.

Nikki was squealing in fright behind me and she had such a vice-like grip around my waist and stomach and was squeezing so hard I thought I was going to be sick. I tried to ignore her and focus on Cairo, encouraging him to fly higher. I was tense, sitting practically rigidly as Cairo soared higher and higher. I didn't dare even attempt to relax my body again until he had levelled his flight path and was cruising at a high altitude.

It was an agonisingly long flight, and my heart hammed relentlessly in my chest as I pushed Cairo, urged him on, begged him to go as fast as I could. I didn't even care that the others were lagging behind, or shouting for me, or that Nikki was telling me Cairo needed to rest. Panic had set in and the only thing I cared about was getting to Goldenrod and getting there _fast._

It was bordering on nightfall by the time the glowing silhouette of Goldenrod rose up from the horizon. It was such a huge city, casting an amber light for miles in all directions, like a lighthouse in the middle of a stormy black sea. Seeing it was like that proverbial beacon of hope. I was here. I was close. I only hoped I wasn't too late...

I knew roughly the location of the dojo in Goldenrod, and I brought Cairo down to land right in front of the Pokemon Centre, a vague map mentally forming in my head. Nikki stumbled down from Cairo's back, but I barely even registered her calls as I recalled Cairo and began to sprint. I raced down the only slightly familiar route I knew would take me to the dojo, my heart thudding. I didn't know what I was going to see. Part of me didn't even want to look...

As I darted through traffic, barely even looking down the roads before I crossed, my mind was a blur of flashing amber lights, a mess of incoherent, jumbled thoughts and a bitter, all-consuming worry. As I ran, my eyes darted over every building in the tightly packed streets, desperately searching for the dojo.

As I rounded a corner, I let out a gasp of shock as I finally caught sight of the dojo. I had expected, and somewhat dreaded, to see the place in absolute ruins. I had entertained visions of seeing it ripped or blown apart, billowing smoke or completely on fire or surrounded by police, ambulance and fire crew. But it wasn't. It stood there quietly and unassuming, as normal as any other building in the street.

But as normal as everything seemed for the moment, I didn't dare stop to think about it. I dashed through the gate and into the dojo, bursting straight through the door and into the main hallway. All the lights were on and everything was deathly quiet. As I moved, a smell reached my nostrils, at first subtle and barely even there, but the further I went through the dojo's corridors, the thicker it got. It was the unmistakable and pungent smell of burning.

Terrified, I pushed on, desperately searching through every room and door I came across, cursing the giant dojo's infuriating maze-like layout. As I searched, banging doors after me as I went, a faint noise suddenly reached my ears. As I stopped to listen, I could make out faint groans of pain, almost mournful in a way. As I tore into the main room of the dojo, my eyes touched on what looked like a room that had been wracked by an earthquake. Furniture had been uprooted, strewn across the room, lying broken in half or completely in bits. Parts of the broken up furniture lay singed and smoking slightly and scorch marks eroded the walls like a fire had blazed straight through the room. The smell of smoke was particularly strong in this room and as I breathed in, I gagged and began coughing as the chalky and charcoal taste clogged up my lungs.

I heard another groan coming from the adjacent room and picked my way carefully across the destroyed debris until I stumbled in. My eyes immediately widened as I took in the horrible sight that lay before me.. Pokemon lay strewn across the room, bloodied and letting out soft murmurs of pain. I saw familiar figures of Rock, Ground, Steel and Fighting Pokemon, my father's favoured power-houses all lying injured and unconscious. A Golem in a crumpled heap. A Machamp sprawled on its back. A weakened Steelix coiled up in a ball. A Tyranitar face down, bleeding profusely. A Bronzong buried under a pile of rubble. I instantly thought the worst.

"Oh my God..."

But it was at this moment that I heard the sound of a sliding door opening. I whipped around to my left and saw the figures of a Poliwrath and an Empoleon push their way through, surveying the room. As they saw me they both began hollering, making such an uproar and looking so furious that it quite frightened me. As I stood there, shocked, heart hammering, another figure appeared at the door, laden down with medical kits, his arms spilling potions and bandages. My heart dropped to somewhere in my stomach as I caught sight of the familiar face.

A familiar face that was sporting a vicious wound, blood cascading down from his temple, running into his eyes, down his check and dripped onto the floor as he walked.

"D...dad?!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, this is a relatively short chapter but I hope it'll show the direction I'm going with. Next chapter we'll learn more about Helene and we'll start to get the plot rolling again :D**

**Okay! Thanks to my reviewers:**

**WarriorSwift: Yes, it got worse... And it is gonna get a LOT worse before it gets any better, unfortunately...**

**ArchXDeath: Well, you'll be seeing a lot of Helene soon, kohai! :D Also, I really need to catch up with your fic... I've been slacking a lot...**

**lmv16: Duly noted! Sorry, the font on my phone is a bit dodgy at times xP Thanks for reviewing!**

**TwewyReaperGirl: I actually like raisins xP Well, I hope this chapter answered your question anyway :D Thanks for the review, they always make me smile :D**

**TCoBlackRoses: Ahh, your reviews are always so uplifting to read :D Yes, Helene will be the forefront for the next couple of chapters so I'm hoping that'll really pick up the story :D**

**SuperShinyShadowUmbreonX: I will eventually get around to doing Monty's story in the extension, yes, and I have a few other stories I want to tell, so don't worry! **

**Twisted diction: Thanks for the reviews! :D and you never know, there might be an Arcanine somewhere along the way :D**

**Until next time, guys :D **


	39. Suspicious Minds

For a moment, I didn't know what to say or do. Dad was standing there, right in front of me, bleeding heavily but looking otherwise okay. I couldn't see any other signs of injuries. His training outfit, however, was spattered with drops of crimson blood that contrasted painfully with the crisp white material. As my horrified call echoed out into the devastated room, Dad stopped mid-stride, looking at me in sheer astonishment, almost losing his grip on several of the healing instruments he was clutching.

"Sienna…?" His voice was soft, tinged with a hushed shock. "You… you came?"

His mild response took me by surprise and I floundered for a moment, but then all of a sudden, I came to my senses. "Of course I came!" I snapped. "Na…Nathan called me from the dojo! _Called _me! I wasn't gonna—" I stopped straight in my tracks, another horrifying thought pushing itself to the forefront of my mind. "Oh my God…" I breathed out, feeling a suffocating panic rise up in my body. My palms instantly became sweaty and I found it difficult to spit out my words. "N…Nathan! Where is he?!"

"Not here." Dad said at once, very matter-of-factly and calmly. "It's safe. For now." He added, an ominous sense of foreboding hanging onto his final words.

"What…? He's… he's not here? But he—"

Dad suddenly grunted, cutting me off mid-sentence. He then reached out and dumped one of the many medical kits he had been holding into my hands. I stared at the offering rather dumbly, looking up to him for an explanation.

"Enough talk." He told me firmly. "Now that you're here, you might as well make yourself useful and help me heal the Pokemon first."

My mouth opened in a vague protest, my eyes fixed firmly on what looked like a puncture wound still leaking crimson blood all over my father's face. "But… you're hurt too!"

"I can wait. The Pokemon can't." Dad said, his voice hardening.

"But Dad—!"

"The Pokemon first!" He barked with such ferocity I instinctively flinched away from him, like a cat expecting a blow. As I stood there, my body torn between staying where I was and running away, he looked down at me fiercely, his eyes burning with such a vicious intensity that it sent a shot of fear stabbing at my heart.

At that point, my resolve broke in an all too familiar experience of déjà vu. It had always been the same. I had always been so defiant of my father in my youth, but one harsh word from him always sent me crumbling, my fear of him proving too great a wall to overcome. Even now, it was the same. "Y...yes!" I stammered, turning on my heel and obediently heading towards the nearest injured Pokemon to me. The Bronzong.

Some part of me was glad to treat the Bronzong. It wasn't a Pokemon my dad ordinarily favoured, but it was big and bulky, built like an absolute tank, possessing many of the qualities I knew he admired in his Pokemon. But there was something a little different about this particular Steel type. It seemed gentler than several of the other Pokemon Dad owned, and as I swept the rubble from its bell-shaped body, it murmured appreciatively as I freed its trapped limbs. Had this been the Golem, the Machamp or the Tyranitar, I had a feeling I would have been thrown halfway across the room no sooner had I even touched one of them. The Bronzong seemed fairly calm even in the face of being so badly injured and responded well as I applied a spritz of Super Potion over the wounds and tickled the Hyper Potion into its mouth, eventually reviving it.

As the Bronzong rose up again, its strength fully restored, I heard the door to the dojo open again. Panicked, I looked up, but it was only Nikki. Her chest was heaving, her face flushed and she was panting heavily. As her widened eyes touched on me, I saw a look of relief pass over her.

"Sienna!"

At that moment, I wanted to say so much to her. But seeing someone so familiar in such an unfamiliar and horrifying situation made inexplicable tears spring in my eyes. At that moment, I was so glad to see her. I needed some manner of normality and of security in a situation that was totally alien and terrifying to me.

"Are you okay?" she called.

It was with a start I remembered my dad's instructions, and out of a strange, primitive fear, I found myself choking out "He…help me with the Pokemon, quickly!"

Nikki faltered for a moment, but snapped her mouth shut and ran up to me, helping herself to some remaining potions. She quickly set to work at the injured Tyranitar that was lying close to her and I couldn't help but feel relieved I wouldn't have to deal with that monster. Remembering my own duties, I got to my feet and checked over the giant Bronzong one last time. It roared satisfyingly as I inspected it, spinning around in a circle in a childlike happiness. I patted it gingerly and looked around, intending to decide which Pokemon to attend to next. I half-expected to see several of them righted and back on their feet, but I was stunned to see that the Golem, Machamp and Steelix still remained unconscious on the floor, while the Empoleon and Poliwrath circled them worriedly. I blinked slowly.

"_I thought Dad was healing them…_" I thought, craning my neck to look around the entire of the main room. Dad was nowhere to be seen. My heart thudded hard against my ribcage and my lips instantly ran dry. "…Dad?" I ventured into the muffled silence of the room.

I was distracted once again by the door banging open. I turned around and saw Elliot, Jasmine, Scott and Bailey come bursting into the main room. No sooner had my eyes touched on them; a shock of adrenaline hit me as I finally seemed to process the fact my father had mysteriously disappeared. Suspicions and fears sprang up in the back of my mind, sending my panic into overdrive. Something wasn't right here. I barked the same order at my friends my father had given me, to look after the Pokemon, and immediately turned on my heel and ran out the first door I saw.

As I emerged into another hallway, I heard the noises of shattering, crashing and banging come from somewhere nearby. I breathed in sharply. This didn't sound good in the slightest.

Without hesitation, I tore towards the kitchen where I had pinpointed the noise was coming from.I stopped in my tracks no sooner had I wrenched the door open and stepped into a room that looked like a tornado had ravaged straight through it. Plates of every colour and pattern lay smashed into a million pieces on the floor, the bright jagged edges of the ceramic covering the tiled floor like a thick carpet. Drawers containing cutlery, kitchen utensils, towels and everything imaginable had been ripped out, their contents spilled like blood. And there, right in the centre of all the chaos, was my father, beating his fists upon the wall, tearing through every appliance and fixture, throwing anything his hands touched either across the room or on the floor. He looked like a crazed madman, encompassed in the burning fury of rage.

"Dad!" I cried out in fright.

As my voice sounded out, he whipped round, his eyes blazing and clenching a fistful of cutlery. I saw a glimpse of a perfectly sharpened chef's knife amongst the harmless spoons, forks and one unsuspecting potato peeler, I screamed. My hands flew to my face defensively, my mind suddenly conjuring images of being attacked. Phantom knives danced in the panicked depths of my mind's eye, and I flinched away so violently my back slammed into the kitchen wall. For a moment, fuelled by sheer blind panic, I wanted to simply run. This primitive instinct was all-consuming. But as I shied away, trying to make my legs move, I heard the clatter of the cutlery as it crashed to the floor. The noise of rushed footfalls and the _crunch _of ceramic sounded like gunshots, only serving to terrify me even further. But all of a sudden, someone stood in front of me and I felt close, warm contact, and the unmistakable feeling of arms draped rather awkwardly around me.

A soft whisper reached the whorls of my ear. "Sienna…?"

I was trembling. Every inch of my body quivered. Deep down, I knew what my father was doing, but I fervently denied it. I wrestled with the confusing tendrils of my consciousness. I didn't want this to be happening, but at the same time, I did.

I forced my reluctant eyes open. Dad was right there, standing over me. He was holding me, his hands resting gently on my back. I inhaled deeply, breathing in a scent that was both familiar and unfamiliar. The familiar smell of the thick, starchy material that made up the uniform he wore and the smell of slightly stale sweat from the constant training he put himself under, but those familiar scents I associated with him were masked by a scent of strong citrus that I simply couldn't identify. A bizarre clash of old, bitter memories and the strangeness of this new situation collided in my mind, making me feel dizzy and emotionally spent.

As Dad's hands rested on me in a strange sort of embrace, the tremor echoing over my body seemed to intensify. As I stood there, pulled into the closest contact I had had with my father in what felt like a lifetime, my head was spinning. Never in my adolescent life had I ever hugged my father. I had hazy memories of awkward hugs that barely lasted a second in my childhood, ghosts of embraces that melted into nothingness and feelings of emptiness and longing for comfort and verification, yearning for that typical father-daughter relationship I had been so ardently denied. And now, after ten years, here I was in a situation I never thought I'd be in again. As I stood there, a strange thought invaded my head. Dad had always seemed so huge, so intimidating, so broad and powerful. But now, standing before him, being held in his arms, he seemed smaller, more diminished, and not as strong as I remembered him...

"Dad?" I croaked out.

"I'm sorry, Sienna..." He said. His voice sounded choked.

"It's okay!" I said, perhaps a little more hysterically than I meant to. With little else I could do, my arms, although restrained by the hug, flailed uselessly up and down a few times. "Dad, what... What's happened here?"

At my question, Dad moved away from me swiftly. He turned his back, looking out the window. I saw his hand rub at his face, just momentarily. "Nathan. He was here."

"I know..." I whispered, instantly remembering the phonecall from earlier. Just at the mere thought of his smooth, slippery, self-assured voice, goosebumps sprang up all over my skin. "He... He told me."

"That bastard." Dad said coarsely. "That cocky, arrogant, slimy bastard…" he aimed a fierce kick at the cupboard next to us, the dull thud reverberating all around us. "I can't believe I let him get away…"

"So… so… he's gone?"

"Yes." Dad said with a defiant nod. "Nathan's a strong trainer, but two years cooped up in jail has made him rusty. And he has a habit of grossly under-estimating his opponents…"

A shock went through me. "Wait… so, you _beat _him? And then he ran away?"

Dad nodded.

"No way!" I said weakly, feeling like I had been hit with a brick. "But...when he was on the phone to me, he sounded so sure that he was gonna..."

"Take his revenge on me?" Dad laughed. "Please. If Nathan wanted even so much as a hope of beating me in a battle, he should know better than to challenge me in my own dojo where I keep all my best Pokemon on hand."

"So... He just... got beaten? And he left?!"

"Left with his tail between his legs. He promised he'd be back, though. No surprises there." He added, somewhat darkly. "Though he won't be alone next time. He says he's going to bring Helene…"

"Helene?" I wrinkled my nose in confusion. "You mean… she wasn't with him when he was here…?"

At that moment however, there came a soft knock at the door, so light it was almost unnoticeable. I turned in direction of the knock to see Bailey sidle inside, looking highly uncomfortable. "Master Volbeda, umm… Sir, we've healed all the Pokemon."

Dad twisted around to see Bailey. A look of abject confusion touched on his face. "Bailey… you're here too?"

"I brought everyone with me." I said quickly.

"Oh." Dad still looked a little perplexed, and I caught a flash of some emotion I couldn't quite recognise pass over him. "Th…thank you, Bailey. Let's go through."

Without another word, Dad strode through into the main room, Bailey following him obediently. I watched them leave, feeling a little overwhelmed. I looked once more around the wrecked kitchen, my heart twisting as I thought of the crazed look in my father's eyes. Snippets of Nathan's words over the phone chimed through my head.

"_Your father is a monster, Sienna! Abusive. Power-hungry... He hides his true persona! ...one slight temptation, one slight push in the wrong direction, he'll go right back to where he started! ...at the first sniff of a chance to gain power, he'll go running back to his old ways!" _

As these words returned to me, I wanted to throw my head into my hands and weep. I tried to fight the feeling, part of me knowing better than to believe Nathan or anything that came out of his mouth. I knew he was nothing more than a horrible, villainous man who found pleasure in cruelty and sadistic acts. It had of course occurred to me that Nathan was just trying to get in my head, push my buttons and hit me where it hurt. But seeing Dad in such a primitive, angered state, it had stirred an unshakeable worry in me. Had this been the push in the wrong direction Nathan had mentioned? It had been a long time since I had seen Dad this angry. He had seemed so mild-mannered and almost easy-going when I first came to Goldenrod. He had seemed like a different person. I began trembling. Had I been wrong to trust him so readily? Seeing him now was like seeing an ominous flashback to his old ways...

"Sienna!"

I jumped as Bailey popped his head around the door again.

"H...huh?"

"Come on!" He gestured for me to follow.

I wanted to be alone with my thoughts, try and make some kind of semblance of sense out of my worries, but I knew I couldn't. I had little option but to follow Bailey into the other room. As I entered, I saw my father standing in the middle of the room, recalling each of the monstrous Pokemon in turn. Nikki, Jasmine, Elliot and Scott were standing in one corner of the room, eyeing my father nervously. Dad turned to look at Bailey and I as we came through in the main room. He nodded approvingly at us as we stepped forward.

"I suppose you all want to know what's going on." He began slowly.

"Yes!" Elliot said at once, stepping forward, an unusually hard look in his green eyes. "Sienna's in danger, isn't she? Isn't she?!" he demanded, his voice low and tinged with an unsual aggressiveness. "Nathan is _dangerous_! What if he goes after her next? She shouldn't even have come here!" He suddenly looked towards me and addressed me. "You shouldn't have come here."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Dad cut cleanly across me. "Sienna _is _in danger, I won't dispute that. Nathan is dangerous, and partnered with Helene, even more so."

"Then you should have stopped her coming!" Elliot snapped.

Instantly, my blood ran cold. I could only helplessly watch as Dad looked down at Elliot with disdain, his face eroding into a vicious frown. "I could say the same for you. I'm her father and her safety is and always will be paramount for me. But you are her... Boyfriend, correct? Anything you say should have far more weight than anything I could say. What seventeen year old girl listens to her father? None that I know. Seventeen year old girls listen to their friends and their boyfriends. You say I should have stopped her…? Well, I say _you _should have stopped her!"

Elliot visibly smarted, his face souring immediately. "How... How dare you?!" he snapped.

"I dare." My father said coolly. "I told Sienna not to come here, but in all honesty, I didn't expect her to listen to me."

"She wouldn't listen to me either!" Elliot looked in my direction again and I was shocked to see a look of fury adorning his face as he fixed his eyes on me. "She wouldn't listen to any of us!"

To my surprise, my father didn't yell at Elliot any further. Instead he chuckled humourlessly, bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That doesn't surprise me..."

Elliot stopped in his tracks. "It...doesn't?"

"No," Dad shook his head. "There's another reason I named this dojo "Free Spirits", Elliot. Because my own daughter is a free spirit. Just like her mother. Won't be tied down, won't do what she's told... Does what she wants when she wants. She's fiercely determined. Once she sets her mind on something, nothing or no-one will change her."

Elliot looked flummoxed.

"Dad..." I said softly, against my better reasoning, suddenly feeling mildly embarrassed.

"But you have to promise me you'll look after my daughter." Dad was speaking to only Elliot now. "She needs a man in her life. A good man."

Elliot's mouth hung open gormlessly.

"Promise me?"

The question hung heavily in the air.

"I haven't been a good father. I haven't been there to protect her when I should. I don't know if I _will _be able to protect here or even if I _deserve _to protect her any more. So, promise me you'll look after her?"

"I... I promise..." Elliot eventually stammered.

Dad nodded approvingly. He then turned to me and looked at me with such a saddened look that it sent a chill down my spine. For some reason, it almost felt like he was saying goodbye. My heart swelled with sadness and I found myself instinctively wanting to cry out. "D…dad!" I whimpered, suddenly feeling the threat of tears.

"Dad..." I ventured.

"Sienna," Dad once again interrupted me. "Nathan told me he'd be back. And next time he won't be coming alone."

I nodded, forcibly expelled from the depths of sadness I was currently struggling in. "Helene, right…?"

"Yes. Helene." Dad nodded. "She was the one who got him out of prison. And Nathan said that he'll be bringing her along next time."

"When...when _is _next time?" I dared to ask.

"I don't know." Dad admitted. "But if they do come here again, we have to be prepared. Helene's a dangerous woman working for Nathan. And I'm worried..."

"Me too..." I whispered.

"Not for the same reasons I am." Dad let out a vicious exhale. "Nathan was cryptic as ever when he came here, but I did manage to get _some _information out of him."

"Oh God..." My heart gave a painful twist. I already didn't like where this was going. "They're not... The Legendaries...? Surely...?"

The limited speech I did manage to push forth was broken and barely legible, but Dad seemed to understand what I was trying to say. "No," he said slowly. "I know he'd never admit it, but Nathan learned his lesson from what happened two years ago. He knows now not to mess with legendary Pokemon, the same as I do. They're not to be trifled with."

"I don't understand..." I whispered. "If he doesn't want legendary Pokemon... What _does _he want?"

Dad hesitated. "I don't know entirely. But I have a suspicion."

"Of what?!"

"I told you Helene is a very smart woman, yes? She's had more degrees and PhD's than I've had hot dinners. One of her particular interests and many fields of expertise is… Ne… na… naru… neura..." He began stumbling over a difficult sounding science-y word. "Brains!" He suddenly corrected himself with a flourish. "She interested in brains."

For one mad moment, I had an admittedly rather funny imagine of a zombie in my head, but I quickly drew a line under it and forced myself to be serious. "Brains?"

"Yeah. How they work, what happens if you poke around in there, all that science mumbo-jumbo that I don't understand. And she has a very specific interest in the neuro-thingy of Pokemon."

I heard Nikki put forth the worth "neurology", but she went generally unheeded.

"She's interested in the brains of Pokemon?" I surmised.

"I believe so. And I believe she's attempting to mess around with Pokemon's brains, somehow."

I shuddered. "Why...?! What on earth would she want to do that for?"

"Nathan didn't disclose _that _information, but yet again, I think I have an idea why. I believe she may be trying to find some way to manipulate Pokemon behaviour through... changing their brain waves or something ridiculous. Load of rubbish, really..."

"Can people really _do _things like that?" Nikki spoke again, looking quite scared.

"Of course not!" Jasmine's foghorn voice rang out as if she was the expert on the matter. "Poking around in peoples' brains to get them to change their behaviour. That's stupid!"

"I don't know if there's any truth to it or not." Dad stepped in at once just as the first inklings of an argument started burgeoning on the horizon. "But the last experiment I heard Helene was undertaking had something to do with gaining some sort of control over Pokemon that already have trainers."

A chill went down my spine. "What…?"

"So… you're saying… this Helene woman wants to find ways to manipulate Pokemon that already have trainers?" Elliot surmised, taking a step forward.

"That is what I believe," Dad said with a nod. "And if my suspicions are right, we can't afford to be careless. We have to keep a constant watch for them." He let out a deep sigh, running his hand through his mane of hair. "If this is what Nathan and Helene have planned, I have to hand it to them… they came up with a decent plan. Any fool can stop someone from doing something with the help of their Pokemon. But take away Pokemon, what are we? Just ordinary people who can't put any sort of impact on the world. Take away Pokemon and we're stripped back to our bare bones. Helpless as the day we were brought into the world. Nathan and Helene know exactly where to strike now. We can't trifle with them anymore."

A thought suddenly struck me. "… 'we', dad? You… you shouldn't be getting involved. He's already tried to get at you once. Besides…" my voice suddenly cracked and seemed to dissipate into nothingness as I forced out my final words. "…we all know it's me he really wants revenge on.

"He'll have to go through me first." Dad said fiercely, before letting out a sigh. "But Sienna, we don't know for sure _anything _just now. The only thing that we can safely assume is that Nathan and Helene _will _be here another day. The best thing we can do is prepare for this."

"P…prepare?" I heard Nikki say worriedly as Dad turned on his heel and aimed a half-hearted kick at a piece of broken wood. "H…how exactly do we prepare for something like _this_?"

Dad turned to look at Nikki and then looked at me, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "This _is _a dojo after all. And how else do we prepare for something in a dojo?"

As several blank faces stared back at him, he shook his head and sighed, looking at me, raising an eyebrow expectantly. "What do we to prepare, Sienna?"

"We train…" the answer slipped from my mouth before I even realised what I was saying.

Dad nodded, a fiery determination suddenly beginning to burn in his eyes.

"We train."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Another chapter :P I will apologise for the lateness of this one as I was struck down with a virus that completely knocked me flat over the past week. Hopefully the next one won't be too long. **

**Oh! And I accidentally enabled 'moderate reviews' last time I was in my account, so apologies to anyone who may have tried to submit a guest review and it never showed. It's been disabled, so posting guest reviews should work again. **

**TCoBlackroses: Wow, so much praise! I don't deserve it haha! And Nathan with a Joker-esque voice? Now he speaks like that in my head too :D Thank you very much for your lovely review as always.**

**WarriorSwift: Nope, no-one's dead. Well, you know Sienna, she doesn't have that much common sense so trying to phone her father didn't even occur to her. I don't think it would've helped either. Thanks for the review!**

**Shadow-Wolf-Hikaru: Yes, darn that Nathan indeed. He's so mean! Thank you for the review!**

**TwewyReaperGirl: Cosplaying! I've always wanted to cosplay, unfortunately I lack the looks and figure to pull it off xP Ah, issues at school, huh? I know that feel… Well, the only interesting thing in my life is that I'm going back to university on Friday so that's quiet scary! Thank you for the review!**

**ArchXDeath: Haha! Sienna giving Nathan a punch in the face would be SO entertaining! Thank you for your dedicated reviews! :D **

**lmv16: Here's the update! Hope I don't disappoint! Thanks for reviewing :)**

**Shadow Serenity 57: Ah, reading the updates back to front? Never mind; so long as you get the gist of it :) And yeah, this is the end now… Thanks for reviewing!**

**That's it! Until next time! **


	40. For Whom the Bell Tolls

Three tense days passed.

I felt like I was moving in a sort of hypnotic, dense fog, the days passing in a simultaneous blink of an eye and a torturously long haze. My life became dominated by training, long, hard hours of it, with breaks to eat and sleep, nothing more. As the time both seemed to both run away from me and never seem to pass, I grew ever more anxious, constantly waiting for something that never seemed to come. It wasn't just me, however. Everyone seemed frightened. Even Elliot, who took over the job of training Nikki and Jasmine, looked unusually nervous as the reality of what he was training them for sunk in. Even Bailey, whose cheerful optimism and sunny disposition seemed never to diminish or waver even in the darkest of moments, seemed dull in comparison to his normal demeanour. Worst of all was Dad. He became a recluse, barely leaving his private training room or his study and he was always muttering fiercely under his breath on the rare occasion I saw him. It seemed almost like he was a bomb just waiting to go off. I hated to admit it, but I was scared. My emotions were a confused, agonising mess during those three days of training and I honestly didn't know what to expect at the inevitable moment when Dad would eventually snap. I felt like a child again, trapped in the same old pitfalls, unable to predict when his temper would erupt. In a manner so scarily reminiscent of my childhood, I found myself tip-toeing around him tentatively, terrified of inspiring the eventual explosion. But to my great surprise, as the hours ticked into days, it didn't come. He remained grumpy, withdrawn and reclusive, but his temper, somehow, remained in check.

On the morning of the fourth day, there was a noticeable shift in atmosphere as we sat down to breakfast. The question remained heavy in the air as it always did; _"Will it be today?' _But again, it went unanswered. That morning, I hardly dared look at anyone above the plate of porridge I was only half-heartedly eating, spending more time coating the back of the spoon with the thick, tasteless mixture than I was putting it to my mouth. We had taken the first three days of peace as a welcome godsend, allowing us time to train, perfecting strategies and developing skills and attacks, but now, it felt like we were just delaying the inevitable.

And I didn't know how much more I could take.

I left the breakfast table after barely uttering a word and managing no more than a pathetic few spoonfuls of the porridge. My stomach was tied in knots and the little food I had managed to take in wasn't settling well. I took a deep breath in of the frigid air, hoping to still my nerves as I stepped out into the garden to begin my training regime. I couldn't calm, however, so I glanced up to the early morning sky and kept my eyes on the lazily drifting clouds for some time, like they held the answers to all the questions I so desperately sought.

"Sienna?"

I started violently as a deep voice came from behind me. I turned around in shock, my heart thudding and saw my father standing at the doorway. My mouth ran dry at the mere sight of him. "Y-yes...?

"I was just thinking..." He began, stepping down from the doorway. I noticed he was in bare feet, but he didn't even so much as wince as he stepped onto the rough, gravely path that snaked around the dojo's ample back garden. He stood solidly, like the figure of an old oak tree. "We never did have that battle."

My breath hitched. "B...battle?"

"Yes."

"But...but I never fulfilled the terms of the agreement," I said stupidly.

Dad blinked at me, looking slightly dumbfounded.

"You said four badges." I clarified hastily. "I have Whitney's. I have Bugsy's. And I have Falkner's. But that's it. I... I didn't get the fourth one..."

"Sienna... A vengeful maniac who has just been busted out of prison and is out looking for you could turn up on this doorstep at any given moment..."

I instinctively flinched, hating the way he phrased it so bluntly.

"...yet you're concerned about breaking the terms of an agreement?"

My cheeks burned. "I... I was always told to honour a promise..."

To my abject surprise, my father chuckled merrily. It was a noise so alien to me that I'm sure my mouth swung open stupidly. "I'm glad to see you paid attention to the morals your mother instilled in you, at least."

Despite myself, I also giggled slightly.

"Forget the agreement for now, Sienna." Dad became serious again. "Neither of us knows what lies ahead on this road. I may never get this chance again-"

"Don't say that!" I cried.

"So I don't want to waste it." Dad finished firmly, ignoring my protest. "So forget the agreement. Sienna, I've wanted to battle you fairly from the moment I stood across from you on Mt Chimney. I will not miss this chance."

"Ever since... Mt Chimney?"

Hazy memories returned to me. Memories of standing on a smoking volcano on the verge of erupting, of being locked in combat alongside the fiery Lavaridge Gym Leader, of panic and fear as I locked eyes with my father, a man I truly believed to be evil, and finally, perhaps most amazing of all, of seeing the majesty and sheer power of Groudon as it split the land and tore it apart, finally sealing itself into a temporary safety. My breath spiked as I ran over this unbelievable portion of my life, but I felt strangely detached from the thoughts, like those memories didn't quite belong to me. Dad was looking at me intensely and for a moment, I just knew, he was looking back on these incredible memories, same as I was.

"Yes. Ever since Mt Chimney I've wanted to battle you. And not a battle like in Sootopolis. A fair one."

I was lost for words.

"You don't want to battle me?"

"No, no, I... I do!" I said at once. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have gone around Johto like I did looking for badges. I just... I guess... I don't really know _why _battling you means so much to me..."

I was lying at this point. Deluding myself entirely. Of course I knew why battling Dad meant so much to me. Because in my heart, deep down and at my essence I was still that little girl that was so desperate for his approval. I was still that little girl who yearned for his acceptance and praise and wanted nothing more than a normal father-daughter relationship. Pokemon training was, and always will be, I realised with some sad resignation, the only door to a relationship with him.

Dad was quiet for a few moments. "So, you will battle me?"

I hesitated.

"If nothing else, it will provide some good training. My Pokemon are strong."

"I have one condition." The words slipped out before I could even register them in my head.

"Which is?"

"No Golem. And no Machamp." I said tentatively.

I couldn't accurately read the emotion on my father's face as my, admittedly peculiar, condition was voiced. After a moment, he nodded. "You… you never did like those Pokemon." He said, and I picked up a trace of what sounded like guilt tingeing his words. But the emotion was gone within seconds, he cleared his throat and became serious again. "Very well. No Golem and no Machamp. Does a three-on-three battle suit you?"

I nodded. "Yeah..."

"Alright. Follow me, then." Dad said, walking across to the makeshift battle arena at the bottom of the garden. I followed him, heart thudding against my ribcage.

As I took my place opposite him at the other end of the battlefield, my palms grew sweaty and my breath became ragged. I never thought I would ever be standing at the opposite end of a battlefield to my father again, and certainly never an official battle. A tremble of fear brushed over my body, and despite the increasing warmth of the sun and the security of the thick jumper I was wearing, I felt bitterly cold. It was now finally I seemed to realise what I was doing. I was about to battle my father. I was about to battle him fairly in an official match. My mind was a mess of emotions, clashing viciously like two armies at war. Right now, it was the moment I had been waiting for ever since I was a little girl. The chance to finally gain his approval.

"Are you ready, Sienna?"

I started again as I was brought to attention. "Uh...yeah."

"Three-on-three, yes? And shall we say... No items, no substitutions and no time limit?"

I wasn't surprised by his choice of no time limit and no items; they were standard battling rules, but my heart sunk at the no substitutions. Substitutions meant you could freely interchange as you saw fit between the three Pokemon you intended to use. In a no substitutions match, your Pokemon remained out until it fainted or couldn't battle or the trainer forfeited the match. A lot of my battles were no substitutions rules, so I _was _used to them. However, at the same time, I knew this battle was going to be tough. Excruciatingly tough. Nothing like I'd ever had before, probably even worse than any Gym battle I'd ever faced. Ideally, I needed all the help I could get.

"Sienna?"

I realised I'd been standing there idly for a few moments and quickly righted myself, clearing my throat and feeling a foolish blush spread over my cheeks. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready." I eventually managed to croak out.

"Alright, then." He paused before unhooking a Pokeball from the thick black belt he had tied securely around his waist. "You know I won't go easy on you just because you're my daughter."

"I wouldn't expect you to."

I was being truthful. I'd like to think I'm not a stupid person. I did not expect him to go easy on me just because we were related by blood. In face, part of me anticipated he would do his very best to give me a battle that was almost impossible to win, just _because _I was his daughter. As a matter of fact, I don't think the phrase 'go easy' even existed in my father's vocabulary. Which was exactly why I knew that I should basically just forget everything I knew about Pokemon battling for now. This battle wouldn't be like a regular battle between trainers. It wouldn't even be like a Gym battle. It would be in a sheer league of its own.

"Good." He said with another swift nod. "Then how about we get started?"

He didn't wait for an answer. He rolled the Pokeball he was holding in his palms for a few moments before throwing it forward with such force and vigour that it looked like he was throwing a punch and not a Pokeball. With an eruption of brilliant white light, the majestic looking Bronzong I had personally healed earlier was floating in front of me.

I swallowed; panic instantly rising at the sight of this opponent. I tried to squash the burgeoning fright back down and think logically, but it was easier said than done. I forced myself to think. Bronzong was a Steel type; that much I could surmise, but my expertise with Steel types was rather limited. I ran my tongue over my chapped lips, thinking deeply about which Pokemon I should use. After a few agonisingly long moments of consideration, I found my hand was automatically drawn to the second Pokeball on my belt. With a forceful throw, Aurora was expelled from the Pokeball.

My dad nodded as Aurora was released. A slight grin touched on my face as I saw my normally cute and unassuming Aurora look steely and threatening, letting out a bellowing roar as she fixed her eyes upon her Bronzong opponent, looking like she was steadying herself for the upcoming battle. For a moment, nothing was said or done. All I could hear were the noises of my own harsh breathing, the blood rushing in my head and the rapid drumming of my heart beating against my rib cage.

Then all of a sudden, the battle was underway.

"Bronzong, Iron Defence!"

I balked immediately. It was the last move I had expected Dad to use. I had wholly anticipated, and intensely dreaded, some manner of all-powerful offensive attack that would be deadly to my poor Sealeo did it hit. But instead, the Bronzong let out an obedient call, drew backwards a few paces and crossed its arms firmly across its bell-shaped body. A brilliant blue shine encompassed the entire of its body, before fading away, leaving the Bronzong seemingly unchanged. I knew better though than to take this at face value. Iron Defence tightened up the entire defences of a Pokemon, leaving it almost impossible to score any damage. I knew Bronzong were bulky anyway, simply by the look of them, and also through the fact that my dad favoured Pokemon like that. I felt worry rise up again. This Pokemon was going to be almost impossible to hurt now…

But I had to try.

"Aurora! Start things off with Hail!"

Hail was an entirely new move in Aurora's arsenal; one she had picked up on the first day of intensive training. I wasn't entirely sure what was going on at the time it had randomly started hailing intensively in the middle of the training session I was doing with her, but Elliot was quick to assure me that it wasn't some freak of nature, but that Aurora had actually learned a new move. Quite a valuable one at that. As the hail began falling all around us, I saw the Bronzong begin to panic as the alarmingly large drops of hail slammed into its body, making it wince and dither futilely in the air. I grinned. I hadn't intended the hail to _hurt _the Bronzong; I had only wanted it to distract it, or hinder it from attacking. But as the Bronzong flailed uselessly against the onslaught of the downpour, I grinned. "Aurora, quick! Aurora Beam!"

The rainbow hued beam slammed into the Bronzong's bulky body, knocking it back a slight few paces, but seeming to do nothing else but that. The Bronzong shook itself off after the attack and let out a huge bellow, before a massive Earthquake began ripping through the ground. I screeched, caught off balance as the ground shifted and shook violently underneath me. Aurora also squealed helplessly as the Earthquake struck, leaving her a sitting target for the Bronzong to bodily tackle her, knocking her flying. She came down to the earth with an almighty crash, but thankfully my Aurora was tough and she righted herself quickly. She retaliated quickly, shooting a Water Pulse at the Bronzong that hit the opposing Pokemon right in the face. Startled by the water, the Pokemon cried out and thrashed around as it was buffeted by the incoming torrent. The hail still fell, but I barely even recognised it, even as it bounced painfully off my skin.

"Pull yourself together, Bronzong!" my dad's voice suddenly rose out, sounding like the commanding shriek of a Pidgeot. "Gyro Ball!"

I swore.

No sooner had the words left my dad's lips; the Bronzong straightened up like nothing had ever happened to it. With a quick, dynamic movement, the Bronzong thrust out its arms, summoning two glowing balls of white energy. I screamed for Aurora to get out of the way, but it was simply too late. The Bronzong began spinning rapidly in a circle, and after gaining furious momentum, it slammed straight into Aurora, making her scream in pain as she was knocked backwards. This time, she didn't get back up as quickly, and the Bronzong took advantage of this. It pulled off a Rock Slide, giant chunks of pointed rocks raining down on her blubbery body, scratching her skin and tearing it open, crimson red blood a stark contrast to her deep blue hide. She whined pitifully as the attack eventually stopped and I felt a shot of bitter sadness hit me at seeing her in such pain. As she struggled to get to her feet again, I saw the Bronzong ready another attack. I automatically yelled out for her, suddenly terrified for her safety. But before I could even process any kind of appropriate reaction, Aurora suddenly let out an angered bellow and blasted the incoming Pokemon with such an intense Water Pulse that it was knocked straight to the ground. As the Bronzong struggled to get up, Aurora began to glow with an intense white light.

"No…!" I cried out, stunned. "No way!"

Aurora was growing. Her body lengthened, her already blubbery body widening and thickening, two viciously long hooked tusks and large whiskers forming around her face. I found myself backing away as my Sealeo evolved into the huge, intimidating figure of a dominating Walrein. She let out a bellow that seemed to echo all around us, terrifying a flock of baby Pidgey from a tree nearby. She thudded her large flippers into the ground, causing tremors, and fixing the Bronzong standing opposite her with a look of steely resolve. A shocked grin took over my face. I couldn't believe it!

Dad was looking across to Aurora and me, but his face was displaying no emotion. "I expected this," he said, somewhat solemnly. "Your dedication to your training with that Sealeo was quite remarkable. Evolution seemed… inevitable."

My mind swam with a million thoughts, but none of them I could articulate into words. I was simply stunned, in total disbelief at what I had just seen. I watched as the giant Walrein moved around experimentally, getting used to her new size. After a few moments, she drew herself up to her full height, staring down the Bronzong that was still floating idly by. But as my heart hammered in my chest and a wicked burst of excitement coursed its way through my veins like fire, igniting my resolve once again, I couldn't fail to notice my father smirking to himself across from me.

"What?" I challenged him immediately, my fear melting away.

"That's an impressive looking Walrein, I will admit." His voice was stoic. "But don't think that just because your Pokemon evolved in the middle of the battle that you have this in the bag. Look at her, Sienna. Look at her properly. She's exhausted."

I flinched. "I… I know…" My excitement, as all-consuming as it had been only mere seconds ago, was already diminishing as I looked at Aurora, realising just how much of a state she was in. She was panting heavily, her body bruised from the attacks she had only _just _managed to sustain. All the same, a tiny spark of resolve went off in the back of my mind. Aurora was exhausted, yes… but that didn't mean I had to roll over and forfeit. "Aurora _is _exhausted. I can see that. Anyone can see that. But… but nothing is ever guaranteed in a battle! I think _you _were the one who taught me that! It's not over until it's over! Now, Aurora, come on! Rest!"

Rest was another move that Aurora had recently picked up and another that I was keen to use in a battle for the first time, knowing exactly the sort of lifesaving move it could be. Obediently, the newly evolved Walrein lay down and within moments, slipped into a deep sleep. I grinned triumphantly. I knew she would regain her energy and be rejuvenated to battle again within a short time! As I looked up to Dad, anticipating to see him looking worried at the direction I had taken the battle in, I saw a look of shock pass over his face. But this wasn't the kind of worried shock I had anticipated. This was sheer unbridled disbelief and I didn't like it one little bit.

"What?!" I asked him, my voice catching.

"Your… your Walrein. She doesn't know any moves she can use while she's asleep, can she?"

"Moves… she can use while she's asleep?"

"Some Pokemon can use moves while they're asleep, but they're few and far between. I only know of two. Sleep Talk is one and Snore is the other. I believe Walrein can learn Snore."

"I… I've never heard of that…" I admitted, wondering why exactly he had brought this up.

"So your Pokemon doesn't know the move?"

"Well, no. She… she doesn't." I looked towards my still slumbering Aurora. "But it doesn't matter! She'll wake up! Then you'll see!"

My dad sunk his head into his hands briefly, before raising it again, his eyes cold and hard. "Sienna… that was a highly foolish move! Your Pokemon is asleep. _Incapacitated. _It has no way of defending and it has no way of _attacking_. Were this an official Pokemon league match, you would be automatically defeated as your Pokemon, even on your order, is asleep and cannot attack. If this was a battle that permitted you to use items to awaken her, or she knew the attack Snore to attack while asleep, then you would be commended for an excellent strategy to restore health and continue battling. But here… you give the order to use Rest so your Pokemon can regain health, but what use is it? By the time she wakes up, Bronzong will have taken her out. It is nothing short of stupidity."

I instinctively winced, his harsh words wounding me deeply.

"You had a good idea." Dad explained. "But you must _think_. Pokemon battling isn't about throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks! You did the worst possible thing, Sienna! You panicked and said the first thing that came into your head! You must be _clever_! Read your opponent! Learn your opponent! And work out a strategy that exploits their weaknesses and your strengths! You got it?!"

I was frozen to the spot, the threat of tears suddenly so great I felt that if I even so much as opened my mouth I would start sobbing. I blinked furiously, trying to contain my tears, so bitterly angry at myself for that stupid move that I wanted to scream. I couldn't believe how idiotic I had been, rushing straight into that without even thinking it through or thinking of the consequences it would bring. Inwardly chastising myself, I felt the tears gather in my eyes and spill out. I wiped them impatiently, sniffing fiercely. I couldn't cry. I wouldn't. Not in front of my father. I would never ever cry in front of him.

"You got it, Sienna?!" I heard him say again.

"Yes!" I spat out, perhaps more violently than I intended to.

"I said I wouldn't go easy on you!" Dad said again, his voice stony. Before I could even react, he was shouting out another command. "Bronzong! Gyro Ball!"

I couldn't watch as the Bronzong delivered the crushing blow to Aurora. I just wanted to slam my hands over my eyes and deny everything that was happening, entertaining some childish instinct that what I couldn't see wouldn't hurt me. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't let Aurora go through the endless barrage of attacks alone. So I forced my eyes to stay open even though it was like my heart was being ripped out the longer I saw her subjected to it. Eventually, I just couldn't take it any longer. I threw up Aurora's Pokeball and recalled her. My whole body began shaking as I realised I had just forfeited the first battle. Some people may have thought it cowardly, but so far as I could see, I had no other option and I didn't regret my decision one little bit. Sniffing furiously, I raised my head and looked my dad straight in the eye.

I waited for the mocking, but it didn't come. Instead, he nodded slowly. "You made the right decision. She couldn't have won."

His words stung, but I couldn't deny that I knew them to be true. "I know." I said at once, before unhooking another Pokeball. "I made a mistake once. But you can be sure that I won't make another one! Cairo, let's go!"

My Flygon soared into the air and within moments of being released, bodily tackled the Bronzong, showing off an impressive Dragon Tail attack he had just recently picked up. The sheer power behind the attack floored the giant Bronzong, which he then followed up with an Earth Power and DragonBreath. But the Bronzong was frustratingly tough, recovering after the onslaught and attacking again. It was an agonisingly long battle, the two Pokemon exchanging blow after blow, the advantage switching constantly between both titans, but finally, the Bronzong fell heavily to the ground.

I looked up at Dad triumphantly, an eager pride coursing through my veins.

He nodded, dare I say, approvingly? "Well done." His voice was as calm and stoic as ever, with no noticeable hints of emotion I could pick up on. "I didn't expect you to knock Bronzong out. You've done well to recover from the incident with your Walrein.

I forced myself to remain quiet. Part of me was roaring with pride and excitement at his compliment, but the other part of me wanted him to shut up and just carry on with the battle. Eventually, he loosed another Pokeball; taking considerable care and time in the slow, calculating manner he did so in. "You beat one of my Pokemon." He said, his words dripping with intent. "Shall we see if you can beat this one?"

I nodded firmly.

"Poliwrath! Let's go!"

Safe to say, his choice of Pokemon had me in total disbelief. The idea of Dad using a Water type Pokemon was very alien and strange to me. In all my experience, I had very rarely seen him use anything that wasn't an exclusive Fighting, Steel, Rock or Ground type. Using a dual type was certainly something I hadn't expected of him. I tensed as the giant Poliwrath let out a roar, stretched its impressive muscles and beat down firmly on its belly as it burst from the ball. Cairo floated above my head, his wings beating rhythmically, looking down upon the Poliwrath with an ingrained look of nervousness. Dad was looking confident as always as he clenched his fists and called out his first order.

"Poliwrath, Bulk Up!"

I let out an instinctive cry as Dad kicked off the battle without my realising. The Poliwrath let out a bellowing cry, flexed its arms and its entire body became surrounded by a brilliant crimson light. I flinched away as the Poliwrath's already massively muscular arms seemed to bulge and thicken right in front of me. I cast a nervous glance up at Cairo. Dad's battle tactics were beginning to worry me. I knew he had always favoured big powerful moves, but I hadn't ever remembered this fondness for boosting moves. Even as I stood there, puzzling this over, Dad called for another Bulk Up, the Poliwrath boosting itself up to an even more impressive stance. I swallowed, my breath catching in my throat and ordered Cairo in to attack. However, the Dragonbreath he executed seemed to bounce harmlessly off the Poliwrath's bulk, leaving the Pokemon completely unharmed. As I floundered, my mind racing with a million half-formed strategic ideas, Dad let out a yell.

"Waterfall!"

And just like that, with one almighty attack, the battle was over. Cairo plummeted heavily to the ground under the onslaught of water, his body soaked and completely useless. Just like that, with one move, he was defeated.

My palms were sweating as I looked at the Poliwrath, flexing its muscles angrily at me. I swallowed, a lump the size of a walnut forming in my throat. "_This is bad. This is really bad… What am I gonna do?_"

Realisation hit me like the proverbial slap in the face. What else could I do…? I had a Water type opponent to contend with now and one that was still completely unknown to me waiting for me. I knew that I only had one option if I wanted even the most remote of chances of somehow pulling a win out of the bag. I pulled the familiar, warm sphere from my belt and held it for a few seconds, praying for a miracle.

As Meloi leapt onto the battlefield with a confident cry, my heart soared in my chest. Perhaps... perhaps there was hope. Perhaps I _could _do this! Perhaps Meloi could win this for me! My heart hammered. I had no idea what my Dad's final Pokemon was, but I could handle it, right? I mean, I was up against a Water type! Taking out a Water type with Meloi was as easy as anything! A triumphant smile touched on my face as I gave my first order.

"Meloi, Thunder Wave!"

"Dodge, and use Waterfall!"

I cried out in shock as the Poliwrath darted forward even before Meloi could ready her attack. The Poliwrath was a blur of blue, almost undetectable, and before I, or Meloi, knew what was happening, the Poliwrath had struck. Powerful torrents of water flashed towards Meloi, falling from above her, sweeping her up and sending her flying. She coughed and spluttered as the waves died down, leaving the battlefield soaking.

An idea struck me. The battlefield was wet! And water conducted electricity! My eyes swept straight across the litter of puddles across the ground and I grinned. "Meloi, Thundershock the ground!"

Despite the oddness of my request, Meloi did as she was told. With a vicious crackle that sounding like a strike of lightning; Meloi fired a massive shock of electricity into the ground. Within seconds, the ground was alive with electricity! It sparked and crackled, sizzling violently along the puddles before catching the Poliwrath straight in its path! With a howl of pain, the Poliwrath was encompassed with bolts of electricity. The attack was brutal, but died within seconds, an eerie calm descending as the Poliwrath wobbled on its feet.

I held my breath. I'm sure Meloi was too as the Poliwrath

And then, all of a sudden, it darted forward, nailing Meloi with a vicious punch to her abdomen!

"How?!" I cried in frustration as Meloi coughed and retched, completely taken by surprise from the attack that had come from nowhere. "How could it have taken that?!"

Dad was smirking. "Poliwrath! Bulk Up again!"

"_It must be that Bulk Up move!" _I realised in horror. _"God, I have to take it out before it gets to the point I can't do it _any _damage at all!_

The Poliwrath once again let out a massive roar, flexing its impressive muscles. But I couldn't dare let myself be intimidated by it. It was a Water type after all, I told myself over and over again. It was a water type! I had an Electric type and a strong one at that! No matter how much this Poliwrath used Bulk Up, if I kept shocking it with electricity, I could win! "Meloi, Thunderpunch!"

But to my abject horror, the Poliwrath evaded the attack! I cursed as the Poliwrath landed safely away from Meloi. I tensed as Dad yelled out another order. "Poliwrath, Focus Punch!"

I froze, totally expecting the Poliwrath to floor Meloi with a single punch. But instead, the Pokemon remained completely stock-still. My jaw hung open as the Pokemon just stood there, doing nothing. I looked at Meloi and saw her with the same gaping look of confusion I expected to be on my face.

Dad suddenly smirked. "Big mistake."

"Huh…?"

Still totally at a loss as to what was happening, I could only stand there dumbly for a good few seconds. But then, with speed I didn't even think _possible _of such a bulky Pokemon, the Poliwrath leapt forward, delivering such a powerful blow to Meloi that it knocked her flat to the ground. My heart shot to my mouth as Meloi whimpered in pain, but eventually managed to stagger to her feet. However, no sooner had she stood up, a grin swept across Dad's face.

"Poliwrath, use Hypnosis."

"No!"

It happened so agonisingly slowly, like the universe had slowed it down just to mock and torture me. Poliwrath executed the attack and as I saw Meloi become affected by it, horrible, wrenching sadness and disbelief took hold of me. Meloi wavered and swayed as the effects of the Hypnosis overcame her and I saw her eyes lidding and her body become limp. Tears pricked at my eyes as I begged and pleaded with her to fight it. She somehow remained standing.

"Enough." Dad suddenly said. "Poliwrath, Focus Punch, one more time."

I wanted to scream as I heard Dad give the order. "_Haven't you hurt her and I enough_?!" I bellowed in my head, but when I tried to physically form the words, they wouldn't come. After a horrible lengthy pause, Poliwrath knocked Meloi to the ground again, and this time, when she fell, she didn't get up again. She was totally knocked out.

"Meloi!" I cried out.

At this point, I wasn't even sure I cared about the fact I had just lost. All I cared about was Meloi lying unconscious on the battlefield. Lying unconscious and beaten when I had dared to be confident that she could win. Sadness rose in me like bitter gall and I found myself wanting to throw up, my stomach constricting and twisting horribly. I shivered violently, my whole body trembling. "Mel…Meloi…?"

I staggered forward, my legs shaking. I took one look at her and fell to the ground, tears soaking the corners of my eyes. I reached out my hands and held her, cradling her head, my heart breaking at the sight of her unconscious figure. I felt like I could apologise for a thousand years and still not be able to fully express just how sorry I was to her.

"Oh Meloi…" I whispered, the tears rolling thick and fast down my cheeks "I'm so sorry… I thought… I thought you would be able to win. I really did…"

A shadow fell across my vision and I instinctively shrunk away from it. "Sienna," came Dad's voice. It was far gentler than I expected it to be, but it still made anger boil up alongside the bitter sadness. "I expected you to know that you can't rely on a type advantage to get you a win…"

"I know, I know!" I said thickly, anger and sadness threatening to overcome me at any given moment. "I know… Spare me the spiel, okay? For once?! Can't you see I'm upset!?"

"I wasn't going to give you a 'spiel'." Dad said calmly. "I was going to say thank you for a good battle." he paused. "You're pretty good." He imparted, before turning on his heel and walking away.

I was dumbfounded. My mind was a blur of conflicting emotions, particularly at what I could only assume was the first piece of praise I had ever received from my father, but the overwhelming concern I had at that moment was Meloi. She was still unconscious and the sight of her like that was simply heart-wrenching. My beloved best friend, just lying there, hurt. I held her, trying to contain my tears, the knowledge I had lost still smarting, like an open wound.

I have no idea how long I sat there, just holding Meloi and trying to come to terms with what had just happened. I didn't even have the strength to raise a Pokeball to recall her. Even just holding her gave me a little comfort. But after some time, I heard my father's voice again. At first I thought he was talking to himself and ignored it, but when I heard the voice suddenly intensify, I forced myself to pay attention. I looked up in confusion to see Dad leaning over his Poliwrath. The Poliwrath was lying on the ground with its arms over its head. It didn't appear to be moving. Dad was talking to the Pokemon in a low hushed voice, and I unfortunately couldn't make out a single word he was saying. As intrigued as I was, I was conscious of Meloi still lying in my arms, so I had little choice but to shout across to him.

"Is Poliwrath alright?"

Even as the question left my lips, I found myself wondering what exactly had happened. Dad's Poliwrath had barely taken a hit throughout the battle with Cairo, and it didn't even seem that adversely affected even by Meloi's electrical attack. But now it was lying on the ground and not even moving. Dad's face was twisted in concern as he spoke to the Poliwrath, trying to raise it or get some reaction out of it. I repeated my question and he finally looked up at me, looking just as confused as I felt. "I... I don't know." He eventually admitted.

"But...but he didn't get hurt!"

"That's what worries me..." Dad murmured, pulling out the Pokeball and recalling Poliwrath.

"Maybe… maybe fatigued?" I tried to offer lightly.

Dad gave me a look that disputed my suggestion immediately. I swallowed nervously and also returned Meloi to her Pokeball, before getting to my feet, ignoring my clicking joints and the stabs of pain that came with the movement. I looked once again at Dad who was displaying a look that I couldn't quite identify. Swallowing nervously, I sought for something to say, but nothing came to me.

"Get inside the dojo, Sienna."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it," he said at once, before turning on his heel. "I need to think…"

My mouth hung open in a vague protest, but I decided to ignore it. Instead, I played the good daughter, ignored the confusing mass of emotions I was experiencing, did what as I was told and obediently went inside into the dojo.

But nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**So sorry for the delay in the update! I'm back at university now and it's kinda manic xP **

**I'm within 8 - 10 chapters of finishing however, so I'd like to get it done before the end of the year :D A bit later than I expected, but hey..**

**Thanks to my reviewers! WarriorSwift, Shadow Serenity 57, WildCroconaw, lmv16, Marcus S. Lazarus, The Neverending Meep, ArchXDeath, TwewyReaperGirl and TcoBlackRoses :D**

**Apologies if this update sucked xP I had a lot of problems with it, I just wanted to get it out and over with. **

**Cookies to anyone who can guess the foreshadowing the chapter title holds :D**

**Until next time :D**


	41. Burning Out

Right there, in the middle of the dojo's main training room, was the figure of a massive enraged Charizard. No sooner had my brain even registered its presence, the Charizard let out an angered, bellowing roar, thrashing its mighty, flaming tail back and forth, and creating dizzying flashes of light that spiralled wildly across my vision. As I stood there, an icy paralysis shooting through my limbs, the huge Pokemon let out another roar that rung in my ears long after it died away. My eyes widened as the giant Pokemon writhed around, looking like it was in the grips of some excruciating pain, before stamping its giant feet into the ground, sending violent tremors ricocheting through the floor! Then suddenly, it raised its neck upwards and expelled a vicious burst of flame! I let out a scream of horror as the flames roared, shooting up in great plumes towards the ceiling. Mercifully, the flames stopped just short of the high ceiling, but within moments the burning embers fell to the ground, igniting! Within moments, the floor was ablaze! In that one panicked moment, I was rooted to the spot, completely incapable of any thought or action!

I heard screaming coming from nearby and I quickly turned my head just in time to see Nikki running up to the Charizard! I yelled at her to get away, but my protests were lost, swallowed up over the noises of the crackling flames. My eyes bulged in terrified horror and a scream caught in my throat as Nikki threw herself at the Charizard, wrapping her arms as far as she could around the Pokemon's giant stomach. She clung on tight as the Pokemon roared, snorting viciously, before it once again started thrashing around! With one swing of the Charizard's giant tail, Nikki went flying! She crashed to the ground heavily some six feet away, letting out an agonised shriek of pain. She didn't get up again.

Unable to do anything else, I screamed. "Nikki!"

All of a sudden, the burning heat shocked me back into my senses. I looked down to see the floor alight with rapidly flames and I backed off sharply, my breath catching painfully in my chest. I heard another yell and I looked up to see Jasmine come storming into the main room, pulling a Pokeball from her waist as she ran. She threw the Pokeball forward, her movements sharp and determined, but her face was a picture of fear. As I expected, I saw Mizu the Azumarill burst out of the Pokeball. Seconds later, Jasmine yelled out an order that I couldn't quite make out over the roar of the flames.

But then the unthinkable happened. No sooner was the Azumarill released that a look of agony passed over her face. With a high pitched wail that rose sharply even above the noise of the fire, her tiny arms darted upwards and she clutched her head, looking pained, before doubling up entirely. She wouldn't even look up as Jasmine called her name.

I began to swear uncontrollably. The pungent smoke was slowly thickening, belching across the tiny room, choking its way like a fist down my throat, making me cough and gag. My eyes stung and sweat stood out on my face and soaked my body. Some part of my head that was still clinging onto sense screamed at me constantly "_Get out! Get out!"_ but I was all too conscious of the fact that at least Nikki and Jasmine were still in here, and what's more, Nikki was hurt. I looked towards the door in some vague hope, but in the spreading flames and hazy, thick smoke, I couldn't see a clear path that would enable my escape. "_Oh God…_" I thought, panic shooting through my veins and getting me in a stranglehold. "_What's happening!?_" I thought frantically, my head a jumbled mess, my thoughts crashing into each other clumsily. "_What's going on?! What do I do!?_"

The flames were still spreading and from instinct I started to back away, the thick, charcoal smog engulfing me. I thought of Aurora, the idea to have her help put the flames out suddenly sparking to the forefront of my mind. But then, reality kicked in and I remembered in horror that she had just been in a battle and knocked out senselessly. There was no way she could help me now.

"_I have to get out, I have to get out, I have to get out!_" I told myself over and over again as I felt the burning heat intensify with every passing second. But although I knew the seriousness of my situation, I somehow still felt totally dumb and blind to the danger I was in and I couldn't make my body do what I knew I had to do to escape. My thoughts crashed together in a manic blur. What was going on? What had happened to Mizu? Why was she acting so strangely!? And what was with that Charizard!? Where did it even come from?! My head was swimming with furious, perplexing, buzzing thoughts, my legs began shaking and I was suddenly afraid they wouldn't be able to support my weight any longer. My breathing became laboured, ragged and heavy and suddenly my knees buckled underneath me and they came into sharp contact with the floor. I started to cough and wheeze, my body limp and totally unresponsive.

"Sienna!"

With a rush of freezing air, the heat suddenly diminished. I looked up to see two figures standing over me. I blinked, barely even recognising their presence, only making out blurry, shadow features before I was forcibly hauled to my feet. I stumbled, only half realising I was being pulled forward. My body and mind felt strangely detached and I experienced an odd floating sensation, like I was swimming through midair. The flames around me all of a sudden seemed to die away as blasts of something cold and wet splattered past me. For what felt like an agonisingly long time, I was forcefully pulled at and tugged at, my arm feeling like it was going to be ripped out its socket before I emerged outside. The suddenness of being out into the refreshing air and bright light took me totally by surprise and I whimpered as the harsh glare of sunlight tore apart my vision. I took in deep lungfuls of cool, clean air, before my body trembled and gave in and I collapsed to the ground, still coughing and spluttering. After a moment, I forced my head up to look at the dojo again, shocked to see the thick smoke still billowing out from the doors and windows. "Oh God, no…!"

"It's alright, Sienna!" I looked up to see Bailey looking down on me, his rounded face somehow still calm and reassuring, despite it reddened and covered in soot. "Don't worry!"

"But Nikki! And Jasmine and Mizu! They didn't—!"

"It'll be fine!" Bailey said again, his voice firmer. "Don't worry! They'll get them out!"

I knew Bailey knew as well as I did that we couldn't be sure if Nikki, Jasmine and Mizu _would _be fine. They were inside a building that was on _fire _for God's sake! But the look of calm reassurance on his face and the gentle firmness in his voice made me inexplicably and without any good reason, believe every single word he was telling me.

I couldn't help but cling onto Bailey at that point, desperate for some semblance of comfort. He held me securely, his big arms wrapped comfortingly around me, like I was hugging a mountain of pillows. I heard shouting and I looked up to see several figures dashing in and out of the dojo, holding fire extinguishers. After what felt like a frighteningly long time, I saw Nikki and Jasmine being dragged out by men I didn't know. I struggled, trying to get away from Bailey to get to them, make sure for myself that they were okay, but he held me back and despite my best efforts I couldn't get free.

"Not a chance!" I heard him say. He then spoke softly, almost as if he were talking to himself rather than me. "I promised Elliot I'd keep you safe and dammit I will..."

I whimpered and begged for all I was worth but he still kept me restrained. So instead, I kept my eyes stubbornly fixed on Jasmine and Nikki, watching them intently as they were moved away and forcibly sat down. Both were coughing and retching, same as I had been, but aside from that, they seemed more-or-less okay, letting me heave a massive sigh of relief. Only mere seconds later, almost miraculously, I noticed the smoke mercifully beginning to thin. I grappled with Bailey, now suddenly overcome with the fiercest desire to get away from him and towards Jasmine and Nikki, but he still held onto me tight. As I was held, I was vaguely aware of passers-by stopping, talking, desperate to know what was going on, but I couldn't pay them any attention. My attention was already divided enough, my eyes flitting between both the dojo and the figures of Nikki and Jasmine.

After an excruciatingly long wait that seemed to drag into what felt like hours, I finally saw the men who had gone racing into the dojo with the fire extinguishers come back out, alongside Elliot, Scott and my father. They were shouting and clamouring, covered in soot and coughing viciously, but amazingly, they seemed otherwise fine. And judging by the thin, pathetic wafts of smoke now drifting lazily from the opened windows, they had either gotten the fire under control or extinguished it completely. I prayed for the latter.

"Sienna," I heard Bailey say.

I looked up to his big, rounded face to see him smiling at me. He squeezed me gently as if giving reassurance, and then motioned towards Elliot, who looked to be laughing weakly, sharing some joke with my father and the other men, and wiping the soot from his glasses.

"He was worried about you." Bailey murmured. "Made me promise that I'd keep you safe once you got out. I know he's seen you're out, but I think he could probably use some comfort from you." He paused. "Go on, go to him."

"But Nikki and Jasmine—"

"Will be fine." He finished for me abruptly. "I'll take care of them. You need to take care of Elliot."

"But… but he looks okay…" I protested weakly, my immediate priority still hovering over Nikki and Jasmine.

"Outwardly, yes. But you should have seen him when he realised the danger you were in. He's very protective over you, Sienna. The idea that you could be in any sort of danger in any sort of way kills him, I know it does. So, go on. Go to him. Even if you just give him a hug. I think he could use that."

I felt my heart wrench viciously in my chest and I had to swallow back my tears. I looked at Elliot, my emotions trembling violently at the thought of him ever being upset or sad or worried, especially over me. That was always the worst part of being in danger, I felt. Not the impact it had on _you_, but the impact it had on others. I hated that. I hated putting people through so much pain and worry. They didn't deserve it and I just wanted to make it better. So, with a sob catching in my throat, I tore myself from Bailey and ran as fast as I could towards Elliot.

He didn't even see me coming and visibly started when I threw myself at him. He caught my clumsily, but then held me tight, letting out a tiny murmur as he wrapped his arms securely around me. He rested his head into the crop of my hair and his hands caressed my back softly. He let out a strange, strangled sigh. "Oh Sienna…!"

"Shhh," I hushed him, holding him as close as I could. "It's okay."

He whimpered softly. "Promise? I got so worried there…"

"I promise." I told him firmly.

"Thank you,"

And no sooner had those words of thanks left his lips and permeated the messy haze of my consciousness; a tremble ran over my soul and lost what little control of my emotions I still had. I burst into noisy tears, clinging onto Elliot like he was my last tie to the world.

* * *

><p>It was some time later before we were allowed back into the dojo, almost evening time. I had to admit though; it was a total shock to me that we would even be <em>able <em>to go back to the dojo. I had expected that we wouldn't be able to go near it for days, so I was incredibly surprised when Elliot began guiding me back inside. The stench of smoke was still heavy in the air and it made me retch and gag, but we were steered into the kitchen which had all the windows open and was remarkably well ventilated. Elliot sat me down at the kitchen table, sitting beside me and keeping his arm around me. I fit snugly under his shoulder and leant my entire body weight onto him without even caring. Moments later, a trembling, quivering Nikki was sat opposite me. She was pale-faced, clutching Jasmine's hand as she was sat down. A couple of minutes later, Bailey came into the kitchen and began busying himself at the kettle, the noises of clinking cups and boiling water the only noises I dared focus on.

After a short time, a cup of hot tea was sat in front of me. I investigated the steaming liquid tentatively and took a testing sip, noticing it was beautifully sweet, just as I liked it. I took a deep, appreciative mouthful, wincing at the heat, but trying to ignore how the molten liquid burned as it slipped down my throat. The initial burn thankfully died away quickly and I was instantly warmed right to my core, a gentle calm washing over me. I took another long draught of the tea and gulped it down, letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

"What… what happened…?"

The tiny voice was almost undetectable, even in the deathly silence of the kitchen, and it took me a few seconds to process that someone was even speaking. I looked up to Nikki who was clutching onto the handle of her cup so tightly I had a horrible fear it would snap off and end up drenching her in scalding tea.

"What…?" I asked, my voice sounding alarmingly croaky.

Nikki looked up briefly over her own mug of tea, before her eyes sunk back down into its light brown depths. "I said… what on earth _happened_?"

"I… I wish I knew." I said with the smallest of shrugs. "I was hoping you could tell me."

Nikki was biting her lip fiercely. She looked up to me for a moment, before her gaze flitted away and then stubbornly fixed on a particular spot on the table. She hesitated, taking a careful sip of her tea, wincing slightly. "I… I don't know what happened at all." She eventually said, rather hoarsely. "Blaze… he… he was so… he just went berserk!" she suddenly burst out. "I mean, he was acting a little odd beforehand; he seemed distracted and he didn't want to listen to me! But I just assumed he was tired or something! But then… then he evolved and… and… and…!"

Her voice suddenly broke and a violent sob escaped her. Instantly I got to my feet and ran around the table to pull her into a hug. She was trembling horribly and I tried to hold her in as comforting an embrace as I could give her, hoping that I could calm her down some way or another. "It's alright," I murmured into her ear. "No-one was hurt. Everyone's fine. It wasn't your fault."

"But what _happened_?!" she cried.

"I wish I knew…" I admitted, feeling my own emotions twist dangerously.

Afraid I would upset myself again, I left Nikki's side at that point after double checking she was alright. Taking my seat again and cuddling into Elliot, I swallowed down another mouthful of my tea for courage and proceeded to tell everyone in the kitchen about what had happened with Dad's Poliwrath just prior to what had happened with Blaze. Jasmine was quick to intercept with how Mizu had reacted to being released, also noting how strange her behaviour had been, but Elliot seemed a little more sceptical. He was quick to pass it off as a coincidence, adamant that it was all just a string of misfortunes and nothing more. But as he stood there, fervently insisting it was a coincidence and almost having me convinced that that was all it could be, something shattered the protective bubble I had only just managed to cocoon myself in.

"It's no coincidence."

The voice from the doorway sent a violent start through the entire room, like a firework had just gone off in the tiny kitchen. Every single one of us jerked our heads up sharply to see my dad standing at the doorway, idly leaning his weight against the doorframe, looking remarkably calm in the ominous seriousness of the silence he had just created.

"What's… what's not a coincidence?" Bailey asked, his voice catching mid-way through.

"What happened to the Pokemon," Dad said with a swift nod. "My Poliwrath. The Charizard. The Azumarill. Something happened. Something affected them."

"But what could have—?"

"I don't know." Dad cut across Elliot's question, quietening him immediately. "But whatever it was, it was serious. Incredibly serious. And probably dangerous. So far as I know, it's affecting all the Pokemon in this dojo at _least_. No, don't try and test it." He added sternly, making Bailey freeze guiltily, one hand on a Pokeball at his belt. "Whatever this is, it seems to be affecting the Pokemon very badly. We can't tempt fate."

"So, what do you suppose we do?"

"I'm afraid there's not much we _can _do. Something is affecting the Pokemon and whatever it is… it's too dangerous for us to risk letting them out."

"So, we're essentially defenceless!?" Jasmine demanded, her voice pitchy and shrill.

"Essentially. Unless we can find what's causing this," Dad said gravely, impatiently slicking back a stray strand of red hair. He then sighed, broke our eye contact and turned his head away. "It's them. I know it is."

I didn't need to ask who Dad meant by "them". The insinuation hung heavily in the air, mocking me, taunting me with every second it lay there. I dared to look at Jasmine, Nikki and Elliot who all returned me identical looks of worry, fear and sadness. My heart twisted painfully in my chest again and I wanted to sink my head into my hands and cry. But I couldn't. I knew I couldn't. I had already done enough crying, the memory of bursting into tears in Elliot's arms earlier all too prominent. Now was not the time to be feeling sorry for myself. I sniffed fiercely and after a vigorous pep talk with myself, I raised my head as high as it would go. I was surprised to see everyone else with their heads bowed and eyes down, even my father. A little jolt of worry took hold of me.

"G…guys?" I murmured. "C…come on, now. We can't get depressed about this…"

No-one looked up at me.

"Come… come on!" I cried. "What are you guys doing? Now is not the time to be sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves! I know you guys better than this! Yeah, the situation looks a little hopeless but… we've been in difficult situations before! Worse than this! So come on! We didn't let it stop us last time! So why the hell would we let it stop us _now_?!"

"Sienna…" Elliot was looking up at me, his eyes widening.

"C…come on!" I said with as much determination as I could muster. "We're just gonna have to soldier on, aren't we?"

My voice caught midway through, but I tried to ignore it, looking pointedly at everyone in the room.

Dad was the only one to nod. "We soldier on," he echoed.

A further day passed with thankfully little incident. However, tensions were running high all the same. I felt like there was some oppressive weight hanging over the whole dojo that I simply couldn't ignore even as we worked swiftly and without stopping to repair the damage that Nikki's Blaze had caused to the main training room. The damage was quite severe in that one room, but thankfully had been contained, and after a quick inspection, the dojo had been deemed safe. After seeing my puzzlement at how quickly the dojo was inspected and deemed safe for use, Dad explained that several Pokemon Gyms and training establishments had people like that to ensure any damage was dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible to make sure it was up and running again with as few problems as possible. I wasn't really too interested in all the things he talked about though; I was just glad we had a place to stay and that there was no serious structural damage. The damaged room was quickly emptied and cleaned, a task that took the better part of the rest of the day, and we all fell into our respective beds that night, exhausted. Nothing further was mentioned over what had happened with the Pokemon, the heavy insinuations over Nathan and Helene being responsible or the puzzling questions they left behind.

The morning came faster than I ever expected. My hand stopped abruptly at my Pokemon belt as I dressed, automatically going for Meloi's Pokeball to release her in the morning as I always did. I scolded myself internally, my hand quivering. One false move at that point could have been disastrous. I wasn't sure if whatever had affected the Pokemon the previous day was still around, but I didn't dare take any chances. So, with a heavy sigh I made my way listlessly downstairs.

The mood in the dojo didn't seem to have lifted with the new day. Nikki's eyes were red over breakfast and when confronted by Jasmine, confessed to have spent most of the night quietly sobbing over the damage she felt she had caused. Before I or anyone else could intervene, Dad had cut in, saying it was no-one's fault, that now was not the time for wallowing in self pity, it was the time for finding out what exactly had caused the Pokemon to act so strangely.

"How can we do that, though?" A rather irate Elliot demanded over the table, his spoon clattering loudly into his half finished bowl of cereal.

"I know I said yesterday that it's dangerous to let any of our Pokemon out of their Pokeballs, but I was thinking that we really need to find out if we're still in danger..." Dad said contemplatively, pulling a Pokeball from the front of his training uniform. "All our Pokemon are too strong for a start, and if a big one like that Charizard is affected again, I might not have much of a dojo left." He said this with a humourless chuckle and from the corner of my peripheral vision I saw Nikki wince. He cleared his throat loudly before continuing, holding up the Pokeball. "Newly hatched Machop." He suddenly announced. "Knows no decent attacking moves. Or much of anything really," he added after a moment's consideration. "If whatever it is that's affecting the Pokemon is still here, we can use this little guy to test it out."

"Th...that's cruel!"

The unexpected outburst came from Nikki's direction as she rose to her feet, banging her fists on the table, making all the dishes rattle ominously. "Th...that Machop is only a baby! You can't put a little baby through that! Look how badly that... whatever-it-was affected a big tough Pokemon like Charizard! What would it do to a tiny little baby?!"

She was beginning to get hysterical with every word she yelled out, tears welling up in her eyes. Jasmine placed a hand on her arm, but it didn't seem to do much to calm her. She stared solidly at my father, shaking furiously, but her resolve stubborn and unyielding. I was stunned. In that one moment, in that one outburst, I felt she displayed more courage and strength towards my father than I ever had or ever would.

"I agree," Dad's response shocked me. "It is cruel. But it's cruel regardless of what Pokemon we use. But using this baby Machop means we're all in less danger."

"So that makes it okay?!"

"Of course it doesn't." Dad said, and I detected iciness in his tone. "But sometimes we have to make a few sacrifices for the greater good."

"Don't talk to me about the greater good!" Nikki blasted, her tiny, soft voice suddenly taking on a harshness I had never heard there before. "The "greater good" would never allow a tiny defenceless baby to be put in danger! Not in my book, anyway!"

"We're all the authors of our own stories, Nikki." Dad said calmly. "I'm not saying it's right, but it's something we have to do."

"I won't be a part of this!"

"Then you'd rather I released my Onix, then? Released my Onix, have it tear apart the dojo in seconds and hurt the people you love?"

Nikki gave a visible start. "But it's innocent..." She protested feebly.

"And a lot more innocent people will be hurt if I don't do this," Dad said decisively, before dropping the Pokeball to the floor.

Nikki let out a yell of protest, darting out from behind the table so fast that her chair toppled to the ground. But she was too late. The Pokeball bounced off the floor and opened, revealing a tiny baby Machop with big, tired eyes. Nikki stopped abruptly in her tracks as the little Machop yawned lazily and stretched its little limbs. It looked up at us, its eyes milky with sleep. I held my breath. For a moment, it seemed like nothing was going to happen…

And then the Machop began whimpering.

It was soft at first; almost unnoticeable but then it rapidly grew louder, before developing into loud, angry sobs. Nikki let out a cry, running towards the baby Machop and embracing it. But the baby Machop, no sooner was it scooped up in her arms, seemed to take offence and let out a bellow. Before I knew what was happening I heard a horrible, gut-wrenching _thwack!_ and all of a sudden, Nikki went sprawling to the floor.

Everything happened at once.

The baby Machop was enraged. It suddenly sunk its tiny fist into the leg of the table and the wood splintered! With an almighty crash, the table buckled and fell to the ground, the plates and glasses shattering, spilling shards of piercing ceramic everywhere! I flew backwards, still in my chair, almost toppling over in the process. The last thing I saw was Elliot racing to Nikki's aid and Dad pouncing on the furious Machop, bodily tackling it into submission. By the time I had pushed myself to my feet, the Machop had been recalled to the Pokeball and Elliot was comforting a whimpering Nikki who was holding a trembling hand to her face.

Dad's eyes were unnaturally wide as he looked down at the Pokeball. "That...is not good..."

"I thought you said that Machop didn't know any good moves!" I spat as I moved towards Nikki. She was clutching at her face, sobbing, and it took some coaxing to get her calm and even more to move her hand away. Eventually, she allowed it to fall down, revealing an alarmingly large purple-red bruise spreading across her right cheek. It was beginning to swell rapidly, reddening viciously, and judging from her sobbing and crying, it stung like hell. I hugged her and then looked up at Dad, glaring.

He offered no apology for what had just happened. His face was solemn and he was acting like he didn't even see the trembling wreck of a girl next to me. "It doesn't know any good moves." He said and I detected no noticeable emotion in his voice. "That's what worries me."

"It's a Fighting type, Dad!" I argued. "It's _bred _to be like this!"

"It was born only a few days ago!" Dad snapped. "It's never done this before! Never! It's a remarkably docile Machop! This is the first time I've _ever _seen it fight!"

I stopped. "First time… ever?"

"Yes." Dad said gravely. "I've never seen it act like that before."

"So, what are you trying to say?" I demanded at once.

"Whatever this is that's affecting the Pokemon is still here. And it's screwing up their behaviour badly. It's turning the Pokemon violent…"

"I can see that!" I said, my voice catching in my throat. "You think—?"

"This has Helene written all over it," Dad said at once. "I told you, the last documented experiment I heard she was undertaking had something to do with getting control over Pokemon that already had trainers. Turning Pokemon violent like this… that's something she'd do in a heartbeat." Dad let out a long sigh, his voice now beginning to cloud with anger. "That's it! I know for sure now. We're dealing with Nathan and Helene. They've been here and they've done something to make the Pokemon act like this. And we have to assume they'll be back to finish the job."

From nearby, Nikki let out an anguished whimper.

"What are we gonna do!?" I cried at once. "If our Pokemon are like this, if they're violent, if they turn on us, what are we gonna do? We can't fight Nathan and Helene off like this!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Dad blasted at once, making me instinctively flinch. "Damn them!" he then spat, sinking his massive fist into the kitchen countertop, making several of the plates there rattle. "They hit us right where we're vulnerable! We've no way to defend ourselves! How did they _do _this?"

"I wish I knew…" I said softly.

"You think Nathan could have maybe… done something when he came to fight you that first time?" Elliot asked.

Dad rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. It's the only time he _could _have! But I've searched every inch of this dojo. _Twice _now! I've found nothing! And so far as I can tell, no-one else is being affected by this! Not even the neighbours! What are they _doing_?! _How _are they doing it?!"

"Dad…" My shaky voice sounded weak in the aftermath of his rage.

Dad looked up, his eyes narrowed slightly. "We need to find out what's going on," he said firmly. "We're sitting here vulnerable like sitting Duckletts. I won't have it!"

After that, Dad stalked out the door, muttering angrily, slamming it behind him violently. I felt the whole dojo shake as the door slammed shut, leaving the rest of us behind in its wake.

"Is he alright…?" Nikki ventured after a few long moments.

"He's fine," I said bluntly. "He's probably just gonna go and tear apart the dojo again,"

"Shouldn't you stop him?"

"Not if I value my life," I said, easing myself gently out of the chair again. "Who knows…? Maybe this time he'll actually _find _something?"

"I'm not optimistic," I heard Scott say from nearby, and privately, I totally agreed with him.

The night drew in quickly and efficiently, shrouding the dojo in a depressing blanket of charcoal black. There wasn't even a star in the sky. I sat, curled up, in one of the armchairs in the living room, watching the skies darken, barely even noticing as people came in and out of the main room, asking if I was okay. As the hours gradually ticked by, I found myself growing more and more agitated, my knees beginning to tremble and quiver of their own accord. No human could give me comfort, not even Elliot when he came through, sat beside me and held me for some time. I found my hand aching to hold the cool metal of a Pokeball, feel Meloi's tiny paw wrapped around my fingers. I missed the comforting presence of my Pokemon. Just them being there always made me feel safe and secure, like nothing bad could happen to me.

I sat there, pulling my legs up underneath me as the clock struck nine in the evening. But no sooner had I let out a deep sigh, lamenting how long I still had to go before I could go to bed, there came a knock at the door.

"Who's at the door at _this _time of the night!?" I heard my Dad rage from upstairs, accompanied by a series of bangs, clatters and vicious expletives.

Quickly, I leapt out of the chair and darted to the front door, unlocking it deftly. I seized the handle and pulled the door open, just a crack. The first thing I noticed was that there were two figures standing there on the doorstep, but the inky blackness of the night had them wrapped up and I couldn't make out any facial features. I snapped on the outside light from the line of switches by the door, all the while inquiring, as I always did to strangers:

"Can I help you?"

"Why yes, love. I believe you can."

The familiar voice, tinged with a thick accent, sent a chill of fear ricocheting down my spine. I backed away hastily, colliding with a small table, sending it and all its contents crashing to the ground with an almighty clatter. As the light spilled in, illuminating the shadow figures on my doorstep, I let out a piercing scream as my eyes touched on the prominent scar that adorned the tallest figure's face.

The scarred face broke out into a twisted, devious grin.

"Hello, Sienna Volbeda."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hi guys =D**

**I apologise for the long wait. Unfortunately, with university deadlines and then a very bad and scary personal experience that happened during the end of September and mid October, I've simply been unable to update. So yeah, I apologise if this update is awful xP**

**Updates are going to continue to be slow, especially as the wonderful Sunbean has conned me into doing NaNoWriMo alongside her this month. If anyone else is doing it, let me know! I'm listed on there as OceanSpiral so yeah!**

**Apologies to everyone who thought Aurora was already a Walrein! =( I didn't mean to cause any confusion xP **

**Thanks very much to my reviewers. I unfortunately don't have the time to type out personal replies as I've got work to be doing very shortly. But thanks all the same to The Neverending Meep, WarriorSwift, ArchXDeath, MasterFreezeman, Shadow Serenity 57, TwewyReaperGirl, TCoBlackroses and Rio. **

**Until next time =D**


	42. The Catalyst

No sooner had those words been expelled into the shroud of inky darkness, I opened my mouth to scream again. I was stumbling over the things I had knocked to the ground in my haste to get away, put any sort of distance between myself and the figures on the doorstep. But faster than I could even squeak, let alone scream, a hand shot out and clasped itself firmly over my mouth, instantly grounding me to the spot. All I could do was whimper in fear, even those noises muffled and weak under the strong grip of someone's strong fingers digging into my cheeks and around my mouth. I closed my eyes against it all, but as I did, a soft, sinister chuckle sounded somewhere above me. My eyes flashed open again and a shot of fear ricocheted through my entire body before an icy paralysis descended. I floundered behind the grasp of the strong hand, my eyes locked straight upwards into the shadowy silhouette of my captor. An arm around my waist was suddenly guiding me back out into the cool air. No sooner had I stepped outside, the door slowly swung to a close behind me, the noise of it clicking shut startlingly loud.

"Don't struggle,"

I ached to reach up and tear the hand away from me, but I couldn't. I just couldn't. I was encompassed by fear and even the mere thought of moving sent chills down my spine. I didn't want to risk it. I was horribly aware of the fact that although my Pokemon lay securely swinging from my belt, I couldn't rely on them. I was trapped…

"Well, well, well. Sienna Volbeda. My… how you've grown since the last time I've seen you…"

I whimpered behind his hand again, his fingers slowly digging further and further into my flesh until his nails bit into me painfully like they were ready to pierce straight through.

"You're not that silly, irritating, frightened little girl you were two years ago any more, are you? No… no, now you're a grown woman." He chuckled deviously, his grip tightening with every word he spoke. "More than ready to take responsibility for what you did to me…"

My eyes were slowly beginning to adjust to the darkness and aided by the slim beams of light from the nearby windows I was finally able to fully make out the faces of the people in front of me. The first, I needed no help to identify. I needed only to hear his voice; listening to that thick, prominent accent was all it took. I knew without doubt that it was Nathan that had me cornered. All the same, my eyes darted all over his face, hunting out the familiar features I knew belonged only to him. But the second I saw the prominent scar and the cold narrowed eyes, I grew scared and found I could look no longer at him.

I looked instead at the other figure. It was a woman. A woman that I knew needed no introduction. In a strange sense, she was everything I expected her to be, but in another, she was exactly the opposite of what I imagined. She stood surprisingly short, a good three or four inches below Nathan, despite wearing smart heels, and her figure was rounded, slightly plump in places. Her coal black hair was scraped back into a tight ponytail, not a single solitary strand out of place, yet the long fronds swung rhythmically with every tiny movement she made. Glasses that seemed a little too big perched precariously on the bridge of her long, thin nose, and large, dark owl-like eyes widened inquisitively behind the thick lenses. Her face was angular, sharp and pointed and her skin almost clinically white. She stood next to Nathan, her arms tightly folded, looking both strangely out of place next to him and at the same time, so eerily similar that my heart began to hammer against my ribcage.

"Now, I'm going to let you go here." Nathan's voice was slippery, a devious smile tugging at his lips. "You have to promise not to make a noise or do anything stupid, otherwise something very unpleasant will happen to you."

I blinked slowly, my heart ramming in my chest.

"You promise?"

I could only manage the vaguest of nods.

"Alright, Sienna Volbeda." Nathan said, and I felt his grip slacken before eventually loosening completely, freeing me.

Despite Nathan's warning and despite the crippling fear that was gripping me, no sooner was I free and he and the woman looked down on me, smiling sinisterly all the while, I saw an opportunity. Something stirred deep inside me, some blind, primitive instinct, and in a moment of sheer, unbridled madness and anger, my body suddenly jerked forward of its own accord. My legs started to move of their own accord, almost like they were acting under their own free will. But instead of running away and getting myself to safety, or finding some way to call for help, I just wanted to throw myself bodily at the two people standing in front of me. I was slave to some automatic, barbaric, primal urge and I just wanted to reach out and throttle Nathan with my bare hands.

But I could barely take one step in his direction before he reached out, seized me around the wrists, gripping me so strongly and so painfully that I cried out and halted right in my tracks. Frightened and shocked, I suddenly felt force collide with my upper back, sending me slamming forward onto my knees. Winded and totally shocked, I slumped to the ground, gasping for breath.

"I'm ashamed, Sienna." I heard Nathan say coldly above me, his voice oozing with some strange, faked hurt, almost sugary-sweet and sing-song like. "I thought I could trust you."

I coughed weakly, still winded. I lay there for a few moments, wheezing, trying to get some air back into my constricted lungs.

"Get up," Nathan commanded icily, but before I could even contemplate the idea of getting up on my own, he had grabbed my arm and yanked me clumsily back to my feet.

Coughing and spluttering, I wavered uncertainly before managing to spit out "What… what the hell was that for?"

"Just reminding you who's in charge here. And what the penalty is for disobeying me," Nathan said callously, his eyes narrowing. "Because you need to remember one very important thing, Miss Volbeda. Your Pokemon are in the grips of a force that you cannot even begin to comprehend. And they won't listen to you, will they? Hah. You see, you have to remember… that without your Pokemon, you are nothing."

"So… so it _was _you…" I wheezed. "You… you did that to our Pokemon?!"

A calculated, scheming look appeared on Nathan's face as he looked towards the woman at his side. "_I _haven't done anything. My associate on the other hand—"

"Oh please, Nathan!" Helene suddenly intercepted, her voice purring like a contented Persian. She too had a thick accent that I couldn't quite identify, but it was poles apart from the thick, drawling, (almost incomprehensible at times) accent that Nathan had. Hers was sharp and fine, twittering like the calls of birds, but still dripping with malicious intent and she narrowed her owl-like eye as she spoke, her thin, angular face turning slowly to look up at him. "Associate is just so… _cold_…" The final word was heaped with intent, and as she spoke, her hand drifted upwards towards his face.

"Associate is what you are, you should behave as such." Nathan sniped, snatching Helene's hand from midair.

She didn't even flinch as Nathan seized a hold of her although he looked to have her in a grasp just as tight and likely painful as the one I had been in. She faced him calmly, looking like an unimpressed mother watching her child have a tantrum. "Oh, really?" she demanded of him, her voice stony. She snatched her hand back and glared at him angrily. "Well, this so-called 'associate' of yours was responsible for getting you _out _of that jail in the first place. Without me, you wouldn't be standing here. Without me, you wouldn't have them like pawns in the palm of your hands. So I will thank you for less of the _associate._"

Nathan was glaring at Helene now, but moments later, the angered sneer slipped off his face to be replaced with a wry grin. "You always have been a lively one, haven't you…?" he asked smoothly, touching her gently on her white cheek.

At this point, the door suddenly flew open and I turned around in shock to see my father come bursting outside, his face enraged. He stopped straight in his tracks when he saw Nathan and Helene standing there and his face slowly twisted further into a look of pure outrage. For a moment, it looked like he was about ready to abandon everything, lunge at Nathan and knock him straight to the ground. He took a step forward, eyes blazing, but the noise of a Pokeball opening and a burst of light from nearby stalled him. I cried out in fear as a giant figure flashed across my vision and seconds later, a huge, green, serpent-like Pokemon appeared from nowhere! I screeched as the Pokemon darted forward in front of Nathan and Helene and began hissing madly, snapping at Dad with enormous jaws, lined with rows of tiny teeth. Dad yelled out in shock as the Pokemon twisted its long body into coils, still hissing and lunging at him, making him instantly back away.

The green serpent Pokemon was totally unfamiliar to me and I looked up to Nathan and Helene, wide-eyed, wondering who the hell it belonged to. Nathan was shaking his head as he looked at Helene in a disapproving manner. "I had it under control," he said coolly.

"How typical of you that you think you must always act the big man," Helene said, one eyebrow twitching. "This is a _partnership_."

"Partnership!" Nathan scoffed. "We've never had a partnership in all the years we've known each other!"

They started to argue, sniping and snapping at each other like bickering siblings, and I cast a glance in my father's direction. He looked furious, biting his lip, a fierce frown marring his face. But he also looked helpless, his eyes betraying a look of sheer powerlessness. I would go as far as to say that he looked distraught, like he knew there was nothing he could do to fix the terrible situation we were in. It was a horrifying sight to endure. I forced myself to look away and think, try and come up with some kind of solution. But it was hard to think when I daren't even _move_; not even the slightest twitch, as the green serpentine Pokemon was still staring us down, looking like it wouldn't hesitate to swallow us whole at the first movement from either of us. I was terrified. I couldn't even call out a Pokemon to help me… And somehow, even if my Pokemon weren't acting strangely, I had the sinking feeling that it likely wouldn't make even the slightest bit of difference.

"I hate to interrupt your little lovers' quarrel over there," The suddenness of Dad's voice startled me, and it was also enough to stop Nathan and Helene in their tracks and bring their attention back to us. "But if you intend to kill me, I'd rather you get it over with as soon as possible."

He spoke so calmly, so matter-of-factly and so easily it was like he was stating his order at a restaurant. It sent a chill through my spine and the words 'kill me' hung heavily and oppressively in the air, darkening it, like someone was trying to smother me…

"Oh, Cal." Nathan was chuckling. "You're a regular old comedian, aren't you…?"

"I try, Nathan." Dad said coolly. "I needed a decent sense of humour working under you…"

Helene let out a burst of laughter. "He speaks the truth," she grinned at Nathan when he turned to look at her darkly.

Nathan grunted slightly, looking angry. "You know, Cal, I don't intend to kill you."

"Oh, you don't?" Dad said, folding his arms. "Well, that_ is _news to me. What a shame, Nathan. I would have expected more from you." He paused. "Or is this Helene's influence?" he suddenly began to snicker, his eyes alight with mirth. "Oh, this is too good. Just too good. Have you gone… soft, Nathan?" he said the word with relish. "Has Helene got you wrapped around her little finger? Or… under her thumb? She's right, you know? Without her, you wouldn't even be standing here."

I wasn't quite sure what happened exactly but next thing I knew, Dad was doubled over, grunting and groaning in pain and Nathan was calmly cracking his knuckles, only a few feet away from him.

"T…touched a nerve, did I?" Dad rasped.

"Hmph." Nathan said, letting his arms fall to his sides again. "Killing would be too good for you," He then imparted, narrowing his eyes. "Death is easy. Too easy, too nice, too _good _for someone like you. There are few things I hate more in life than traitors, and the only thing traitors deserve is suffering. Seeing all the things and people you care about suffer. You wronged me, Cal Volbeda. But I won't waste time killing you. You're not even _worth _killing. Seeing everything you love taken away from you is the only punishment I see fit for you. Your precious dojo... burned to a crisp. Your dear Pokemon... reduced to mindlessly violent creatures beyond your control. Your hopes and dreams… dashed before you even have a chance to properly fulfil them. Your family that you've only just managed to get back... ripped from you and destroyed in front of your very eyes. No, Cal. You don't deserve to die. You're so low you're not even worth killing..."

"D…Dad!" I cried out instinctively.

"But your beautiful daughter on the other hand," Nathan said with a devious smirk, slowly turning towards me. "Now she... she is most definitely worth killing."

"You lay a hand on her and I'll-"

"What can you do?" Nathan intervened with an easy chuckle. "Your Pokemon aren't able to help you, thanks to Helene's handiwork here," he grinned in Helene's direction, who nodded her head smugly at her mention. "You're powerless."

I felt tears suddenly slip down from my eyes and a sense of hopelessness wash over me. "Oh God, no…"

"Helene," Nathan suddenly said firmly. "Take the girl. Keep her away for the moment. I have some unfinished business with Cal and the other annoyances in the dojo."

"You got it," Helene said. "Serperior! Take her out!"

And before I could even do a thing to fight back, the giant serpentine Pokemon rose up to its full height, hissing madly. I let out a screech and threw my arms up to protect myself, but it was useless. The Pokemon sprang forward, its whole body weight slamming into me and knocking me flat onto my back. Pain exploded in angry bursts up and down my spine and the back of my head, before silence fell and an inky gloom descended.

* * *

><p>When I came to again, the first thing I knew was that I was freezing cold.<p>

The next thing I knew was a pair of yellow glowing eyes staring at me.

I shrieked and tried to move, but my body was oddly constricted and I couldn't move it, no matter how hard I tried. Suddenly, a light came on overhead and I realised I was in a tiny room, wrapped up in the long, coiled body of the serpentine Pokemon from earlier. I fought the urge to scream but the sight of the bared teeth of the Pokemon that had me in its grasp was so terrifying that I forced myself to keep quiet. I struggled uselessly before the sharp _clack-clack-clack _of pointed heels on the floor alerted me to someone's presence and I looked up to see Helene push her way into the tiny room, a smile adorning her angular face.

"Where… where I am?!" I asked at once.

"Relax, silly girl. You're not as far away from your precious father, actually," she smirked. "Certainly not as far away as I would have _liked _to have taken you. I can't take you too far, you know? As amazing as my technology is, it has an unfortunately short range…"

"Tech…technology…?"

"Surely my reputation precedes me?"

I looked at her blankly.

"Ah, non… she does not know who I am…" She said with an abrupt sigh. "Very well. Perhaps it would be best to introduce myself properly." Another smile slowly inched over her face. "Dr. Helene Fontaine, holder of two masters degrees in chemistry and engineering and a PhD in neurology, youngest ever female professor appointed to Castelia University and one of the most well known and respected names in the field of Pokemon neuroscience. I like to know why things work and how things work, _especially _when it comes to the brain. That one little organ that keeps us alive, keeps us functioning, defines everything about us, what we do and why we do it. And I like to _experiment _with that organ. I like to see what happens when we poke this, or prod this, take this bit out, or cut a hole in that bit. I like knowing what parts of the brain do what, why they do it, and what happens to a person, or a Pokemon, when the brain is changed around. And well, you know, I've discovered something very interesting in all my years as a researcher and professor."

"What…?" I whispered hoarsely.

"It's always been a hot topic among people in my field if there's a way to control Pokemon without ever needing a Pokeball to capture them. We've never really understood what it is about being captured that enforces a Pokemon's obedience. Is it something biological, maybe? Some chemical change in the brain that we've never been aware of that happens without us knowing when it gets trapped in that Pokeball? Or is it psychological? Do Pokemon behave because they are expected or _assumed _to behave? What is it about being captured, about being sucked into a Pokeball that can turn even the most aggressive of beasts into obedient, well-mannered, peaceful and loving little creatures totally at the mercy of their trainers? And is there some way to _revert _Pokemon to that way without having to release them?"

I took in a sharp intake of breath.

"It took me years of research to finally come up with a tangible hypothesis, and even longer to test and conclude my findings. Along the way, I became involved with Team Plasma. They were interested in the liberation of Pokemon, and I guess I was too, in a sense. I wanted to know if releasing Pokemon from their Pokeballs would revert them back to a 'neutral' state, completely able to be moulded and manipulated again, or if the memories of their trainers would still impact their later behaviour. Working alongside Team Plasma gave me access to all the research labs and equipment and Pokemon test subjects I ever wanted. And of course, that's when I met Nathan…"

I grimaced.

"He found my work very interesting, to say the least. He's always been intrigued by the idea of controlling Pokemon, you see? The plans he devised for going after the legendary Pokemon were brilliant, just brilliant. But of course… they were spoiled… By Cal Volbeda's idiocy, by your interference, and might I just say, my absence. I daresay, he would have succeeded were I not kept from assisting."

"You're full of yourself!" I found myself spitting.

"It's the truth," she said calmly. "Nathan's a powerful man, but he lacks the grey matter necessary…" she tapped on her forehead a few times, a cool smile slipping across her face. "… to pull off such an important operation,"

"Oh, and I suppose you do!"

"Of course I do," Helene said primly, with an irritated toss of her head that reminded me of an angry Tauros. "That man would be nothing without me. He'd have achieved nothing without me. Let alone what I did to your Pokemon."

"What you did to our Pokemon…?" I asked slowly. "What… what _did _you do to our Pokemon?"

Helene was still sneering, her thin lips twitching. "How much do you know about the brain, Sienna?"

I blinked slowly. "The brain? N...not much..." I admitted truthfully.

"Shame," Helene said scathingly. "But then again, I didn't expect anything less. You're rather uneducated, aren't you?"

"Uneducated?!"

"Yes. People like you really ought to learn about more worthwhile things. Take the brain for example. It's a remarkable, _remarkable _organ. It controls everything, like I said. And if you play around with it, tweak it, change it even in the slightest of ways, you can change a person's behaviour completely. And in fact, with enough probing and change, you can change their very _essence."_

_"_Change their essence...?" I whispered.

"Yes. Now tell me, you must at _least _have heard of the case of Phineas Gage?"

The name wasn't altogether unfamiliar to me, but I could not remember for the life of me where I had heard it before or what it was associated with, so I had no choice but to shake my head.

"Ugh," Helene sounded disgusted. "You lack the knowledge even of a basic, high school level of Biology. I weep for your generation. But no mind! Phineas Gage… Perhaps one of the most famous and important cases in all medical and psychological history. This man… this gentle, mild-mannered, smart, well-behaved, good man, sustained a very serious injury… he had an iron rod driven through his head, destroying much of the frontal lobe of his brain. Remarkably though, this man survived. But his survival came at a price. After recovering from the accident, people were shocked to discover that he was a totally changed man. He became aggressive, lied, thieved, bullied and engaged in all manner of highly inappropriate behaviour. He, quite simply, was no longer himself. And it was from this that I gained inspiration for my experiments."

"Oh my God…"

"If frontal lobe damage can cause this level of change in a human, then I theorised that, naturally, the same should apply to Pokemon. I mean, I'm not here to talk to you about driving an iron rod through the heads of Pokemon and performing lobotomies on them and I'm _certainly _not here to talk about mind control or any of that gimmicky sci-fi stuff. I'm talking about making some very subtle changes to elicit aggression."

"Aggression?"

Helene nodded. "Aggression. Pokemon are very sucespitble to aggression. Their brains aren't as well developed as humans' are, so they're more sucesptible to the _extremes, _shall we say? Subtle changes in brain chemistry or stimulation to certain lobes have _much _more of an effect on a Pokemon than would on humans."

"Oh my God...!" This was starting to sound like something out of a cheap sci-fi thriller. "What... What have you done to them?"

Helene was smiling. "Are you familiar with the hypothalamus?"

"The hypo...what?" I asked, my brow furrowing.

"Hypothalamus," Helene repeated calmly. "It's a tiny portion of the midbrain, no bigger than this…" she measured out a tiny gap between her thumb and forefinger that was barely even a centimetre long. "…just above the brain stem. It does a lot of things, you know? It's responsible for metabolic processes, it synthesises neurohormones and stimulates and inhibits pituitary hormones. It also controls body temperature, hunger, thirst and sleep cycles. It's a remarkable little thing, really."

"I… I don't understand…" I whispered, the intimidating sciencey words bouncing off me ineffectively and dissipating.

"Believe it or not, but the hypothalamus is _also _responsible for behavioural aggression." Helene said with a keen smile. "And I discovered after a lot of research that electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus can create aggressive behaviour in most species of Pokemon."

"What…?!" I whispered hoarsely.

"So I built this handy little device that lets out a tiny electrical impulse in order to fulfil this very idea. It's not enough to affect any appliances or even be noticeable to affect any humans adversely. It works just a little like a brain scan. Enough to do what it's supposed to, but not enough to affect anyone else. Now," she said, with a devious smile. "The electrical currant this device emits is just strong enough to be able to penetrate the skulls of the Pokemon around us and stimulate the hypothalamus, thereby causing the aggressive behaviour you've seen."

I could barely even process what Helene was telling me anymore. This woman had purposefully meddled with Pokemon's _brains_?! And what's more, she had _succeeded_?! She had totally changed the behaviour of Pokemon just by a simple electrical stimulation of an area of the brain!? She was still talking as I gawped, in total disbelief, talking constantly about how clever she was to create this device, and that I simply couldn't comprehend the brilliance behind the design and creation of this plan. I didn't know what to do. I knew that there was likely so much more behind Helene's little device, or whatever it was she had made, but at this point I was beyond caring...

I was terrified, plain and simple. Somehow, the idea that someone had manipulated my Pokemon, changed them from the inside out by something as simple as an electrical stimulation, and left them totally uncontrollable and alien to me, like they were nothing more like wild Pokemon, was scarier than the idea of someone with a legendary Pokemon at their control. I began to tremble all over. I had always privately thought to myself that so long as I had my Pokemon at my side, and the people I loved and trusted had their Pokemon at their sides, that if anything like this had happened again, we would be able to stop it one way or another. Because I know for a fact that I and the people I love are strong. We'd proved it once and we would prove it again if we had to. But now, we were powerless. As trainers, we had been stripped of our precious friends, our means of protecting ourselves and protecring the people we loved. We were helpless now. Our Pokemon were in the clutches of this mad, brains-obsessed scientist who had somehow managed to change them beyond all comprehension. Tears began pricking at my eyes. My poor Meloi, Aurora, Monty, Kiba, Indigo and Cairo… They were totally beyond my reach now… Would they even know me if I released them? Would they recognise me? Could I even _hope _to somehow bring them back? I took in a shaky breath, tears beginning to slip out.

"_What am I going to do_…?" I thought in devastated horror. "_My Pokemon… my poor Pokemon…_"

This was worse than anything I could have ever imagined. Now that I finally understood what Helene had done to my Pokemon, our Pokemon, I could see just what a hopeless situation we were in. A Pokemon trainer was reliant on their Pokemon, as much as I hated to admit it, and the partnership that existed between them was both crucial to their survival and so emotionally precious… the idea of losing that, losing my beautiful friendships with my amazing Pokemon was simply heart-wrenchingly sad. I felt like someone had ripped my still beating heart from my chest and trod on it. Horrifying thoughts forced their way to the front of my mind. Were my Pokemon… lost to me now? What was going to happen? I had to stop Nathan and Helene, somehow… but how could I without my Pokemon? How could I do anything with Pokemon that likely wouldn't even recognise me? Pokemon that wouldn't even listen to me? Pokemon that probably attack _me _sooner than attack the real bad guys? Without my Pokemon… I was nothing.

And that idea was far scarier than anything I'd ever imagined before. Even scarier than the thought of a raving madman with all the legendary Pokemon in the world at his beck and call.

I put my head down and began to sniff, the threat of tears now almost impossible to ignore, my restricted hands still desperately searching for the familiar weights of the Pokeballs around my waist. I could not reach them; the Serperior had me in such a tight grip I couldn't even so much as wiggle one single finger.

"Don't cry, Sienna…" I told myself between fevered gasps as the tears began and the sobs sounded out. "What good… will crying… do…?"

And although I knew it would serve me no help, that it would fulfil no purpose, I burst into loud, angry, furious, devastated sobs. I looked up at Helene, my vision marred with tears, feeling such a surge of hatred towards this woman I had only just met, that had I been free from the constricting binds of her Serperior, I would have knocked her flat on her back and pounded her head into the floor until she stopped moving…

I was all alone. I didn't even know where I was. The people I loved were in severe danger. And although my Pokemon were safe inside the Pokeballs that lay attached to the Pokebelt fastened securely around my waist, they were as good as lost to me. Nathan and Helene had taken my Pokemon from me in quite possibly the most nightmarish way possible.

And I didn't know how I was going to get them back

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hey guys! **

**Well, first off I can only apologise for the very long hiatus… University was crazy during November and December with exams and mountains of coursework, and I had NaNoWriMo in November, which I miraculously actually managed to achieve! **

**But yes, I'm back, and I'm back for good until Free Spirits is concluded =)**

**Once I get back into my routine, I'll start doing the personal replies again, but for now, thanks to The Neverending Meep, WildCroconaw, MasterFreezeman, ArchXDeath, Shadow Serenity 57, TwewyReaperGirl and Warriorswift for the wonderful reviews =)**

**Until next time, guys =)**

**Oh, and Merry Christmas and I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year when it comes =)**


	43. Unethical

"I'm quite disappointed, you know?"

Helene's voice came suddenly, and it was soft; I could barely hear it above my sniffling tears and infrequent gasps for breath. I sniffed one last time and forced myself to look up through a haze of misty tears. My eyes went straight to Helene, who was sitting idly on a chair only a few metres away from me. Her legs were crossed, her arms were firmly folded and she was wearing a look of extreme disdain as she watched me.

"Di-disappointed?" I hiccupped, finding my voice wavered and caught as I tried to speak.

"Yes," she said coldly with a jerk of her shoulders. "I did not expect you to be so… accepting of everything I've just told you," she was jeering now. "From what Nathan told me of you, I thought you would struggle. I thought you would fight back! Try and fight me off and do whatever you could to stop me. But I'm just disappointed now. You seemed so promising. You seemed like a girl with so much spirit."

I flinched at the use of that word. For some reason, I couldn't stand to hear it…

"Where is that spirit? Where is that spark? Where is that fire in your belly?!" she demanded, leaning further and further forward in the chair with every question she expelled forth.

"W… why do you care?!" I spat. "You're one of the bad guys! Surely you shouldn't care about any of that? Surely you should _want_ me to sit still and behave myself so I can't try and stop you?!"

"While that may be true," Helene said with a callous smile. "I like to see women with a little bit of spark and fire! Women that can stand up for themselves and make their own way in life. Women who do not need to depend on men to save them. Women like me!" she said with a flourish.

I winced again, her words hitting me harder than I expected them to. "I… I don't need men to save me…" I murmured defiantly, but at the same time, images of Elliot and Dad's faces swept through my mind. I tried to banish them from my thoughts, but I couldn't…

"Really?" she inquired, raising one eyebrow in a calculating manner. "Then why do you not struggle?" she then narrowed her eyes. "If you're waiting for daddy or your boyfriend to come and save you, you're wasting your time. Nathan is keeping them busy."

"D…doing what?" I cried out.

"Nothing that you need to concern yourself with," she brushed me off coolly.

I grunted angrily. "You… you're really…!" I broke off, thinking of no word to describe her.

"Really what?" she inquired, uncrossing her legs and leaning forward even further in her chair. "Cruel? Evil? Please," she said with a short laugh, before her voice hardened slightly. "I've heard all that before. Words mean nothing. Actions matter."

Frustrated and absolutely clueless as to what to do, all I could do was clench my eyes tightly shut.

"I am disappointed, Sienna Volbeda." Helene repeated herself. "Your father is perhaps one of the strongest Pokemon trainers I have ever met, and he burns with a determination as strong as the tail-fire of a Charizard. And I know you are strong. You took down Nathan and the people of Team Quantum. You, a little fifteen year old girl, thwarted the aims of an evil madman with the legendary Pokemon of the world in his command. Your achievements, it pains me to admit, are nothing short of… remarkable. I both admired your tenacity and skill and also found myself quite frightened by it. I worried about facing someone like you if you, at only fifteen, had achieved so much already."

My eyes opened again and my mouth swung open in astonishment.

"But now I see that I was wrong," she then said coldly. "You disappoint me. You don't fight. You don't struggle. You don't even protest. You seemed so promising; a young woman able to fight and stand up for herself. But really… really you're just a little girl who's still waiting and hoping for Daddy to save you, aren't you?"

I took in a sharp intake of breath, flinching away from her cutting words and feeling tears prick at the corner of my eyes again. "I… I…" I floundered helplessly.

Helene shook her head before getting to her feet and walking slowly towards me. Every iota of my body ached to run and get away, but the fierce grip of the Serperior held me tight. "I guess it doesn't matter if you struggle or not," she said, rather standoffishly. "You wouldn't even make it out the door even if you did get away from my Serperior." She said, her fingers suddenly pulling at the side of the white overcoat, revealing a belt of six gleaming Pokeballs. "I'm not just a scientist, you know? I'm also a highly accomplished Pokemon trainer. And let's not forget, your Pokemon can't fight."

At her words, something suddenly struck me. "W…wait!" I cried out, my voice sounding alarmingly pitchy and sharp. "There's… there's something I don't understand…"

"_Something_?" Helene frowned. "My dear girl, there appears to be a lot you do not understand…"

I ignored her jibe. "Your Pokemon! And Nathan's Pokemon! How… how come they're not affected like our Pokemon are?"

Helene smirked. "Oh, I was beginning to wonder how long it would take you to realise that. Well, the electrical impulse of the technology I created can actually be manipulated slightly so that it does not affect Pokemon with particular brain structure and brain waves. I was able to adapt it so that it does not affect the Pokemon that he and I use. Unfortunately, that created a few… how do you say… shortcomings?"

"Sh…shortcomings?"

Helene then looked a little alarmed, like she had revealed something she hadn't meant to, but after a moment of silence a wry grin once again took over her face. "Well, yes. But it doesn't matter. You won't be hanging around long enough to find out what they are."

"What do you mean?" I asked shakily.

"Well, Nathan is upstairs taking care of your father and your friends, so as soon as he's done with that, I'll be delivering you to him."

She spoke so casually and easily, like she was describing her day to a close friend that it sent a tremor of fear shuddering through me. "T…taking care…?" I whispered hoarsely.

"Although knowing Nathan, we could very well be waiting a while…" Helene said with a snort. "He never thinks! And then he talks and talks and talks when he should be taking action! He has always been a talker! Even while we were in Team Plasma, he was always _talking_!"

Part of me was tempted to tell her that she was doing the exact same, just jabbering on incessantly, but the part of my brain still holding onto common sense told me to bite my tongue. Instead, the mention of Team Plasma had stirred a memory in me. I remembered something my father had told me, some time ago. "Team Plasma…? Oh yeah… you and Nathan were in Team Plasma together, weren't you?"

"Indeed," Helene said with a nod. "Nathan entered Team Plasma rather foolishly, if you ask me. He was young, impressionable and power-hungry. He spent many of his younger years fascinated by the actions and work of Team Rocket in Kanto and Johto. He idolised them even. He felt if he could become part of such a team it would allow him the stepping stone he needed for his own desires. So when he heard of Team Plasma, he signed up immediately. But Nathan was rash and foolish. He did not know what Team Plasma stood for when he joined their ranks as a lowly grunt. Liberation of Pokemon was nothing to him. He desired only to control Pokemon. But what choice did he have but to stay? Team Plasma allowed him the perfect cover to continue his work and his research and develop his skills amongst other skilled trainers. And of course, that was when he met me."

I swallowed deeply.

"I told you before, I also came to Team Plasma with little care for the liberation of Pokemon that everyone seemed to care so greatly for. Team Plasma allowed me the access to laboratories and equipment that I had lost after being… dismissed… from my position as professor in Castelia University." She said the word 'dismissed' with a wry smile, and I sensed some kind of story lurking behind it. "Team Plasma were very accommodating. They allowed me free reign of their laboratories to research what I liked in exchange for my services as a Pokemon trainer and whatever research they requested of me. Now our time with Team Plasma was relatively uneventful until we met each other. I… I had never met a man so passionate and determined about anything, until I met Nathan."

A strange softness encompassed Helene's voice and I couldn't help but let out a snort. Helene either didn't notice it or did an excellent job of pretending she hadn't, and carried on talking.

"He was an unpredictable man." She stated, rather bluntly. "And he had a temper that could snap at any given moment. Our relationship was… passionate, but unstable. We irritated and despised each other as much as we admired each other. I admired his strength and determination, but he was close-minded and arrogant, with barely two brain cells to rub together. Sometimes it felt like he could only see things that were dangling right in front of his face. And I know he resented my superior intelligence, yet I know some part of him admired it also. We had a very… surreal relationship… I have never known a man like him. He is such an enigma. It… it appears to me that we spent all of our time in either passion or hatred. We never had a middle ground. And as our relationship fluctuated, we both also found ourselves at the mercy of the two main figures of Team Plasma."

I breathed out in slight annoyance, finding myself wondering how she could stand to talk for so long when she had just criticised Nathan for talking so much…

"Time went on and I began to experiment further, delving into territories that have fascinated me for years but which are seen as… cruel and unethical among other scientists." She snorted as she said those words, clearly displeased at the connotations they held. "I had at my disposal hundreds of Pokemon that Team Plasma took in. It wasn't too hard to take Pokemon here and there, breed them and raise the eggs to use for my own means."

I didn't like where this was going. I wanted to open my mouth and tell her to stop, suddenly afraid of what she was going to say, but I couldn't.

"When Team Plasma learned of the experiments I began conducting, it was needless to say, they weren't pleased."

"Wh…why?" I found myself asking, my voice sounding thin and reedy in the emptiness of the tiny room I was in. Even as I spoke, the Serperior that was still holding me captive hissed softly and menacingly, its long forked tongue slithering inquisitively from its jaws. "What… what did you do?"

A cool smile slipped over Helene's face. "I wanted to find out what areas of the brain were involved with sensory perception."

"S…sensory perception?"

"Yes. Sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing. I'm sure you're familiar with them in their layman's terms," she said, rather impatiently. "I wanted to know what areas of the brain controlled them. So, how would you imagine I would find that out?"

"I… I don't know…" I admitted.

"Well, you take away the senses and then look to see which areas of the brain were underdeveloped as a result," Helene said casually, while a stab of terror punctuated my heart. "So, I took several newborn Rattata and reared them without any access to sensory stimuli. They spent the entire of their lives in tiny cages, totally in darkness and silence, and fed only through tubes. They had no physical contact with humans or contact with any other Pokemon. The results were… staggering…"

I felt sick. A cold, clammy, nauseous feeling suddenly washed over me and shook me right to my core. My head was suddenly crammed full of thoughts of those poor baby Rattata, torn from their mother the minute they were born, thrown into captivity and reared in nothing but a tiny dark room, with no light, no sound and no contact with anything. How lonely and frightened and terrified those poor Pokemon must have felt. I felt horrible as the gravity of what Helene had did sunk in. I was utterly devastated and disgusted, sour bile slowly rising in my throat. "How… how could you do things like that?" I choked out.

"It's for the good of science," Helene said with a casual shrug. "Sometimes we must take the risk. Sometimes we must do things that others consider unethical in order to really, truly learn and advance."

"But those Pokemon were innocent!" I cried.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few!" Helene's voice suddenly hardened as she got to her feet, the chair scraping sharply across the floor. "Let me ask you something, Sienna Volbeda! What would happen if these so-called unethical experiments ended up doing some good? What if the results of an unethical experiment gave us an insight into something we didn't know? What if those results _helped_ someone? Can you comprehend that? What if it opened a whole new field of research? What if those results helped _save _someone?! I ask you, what is more unethical? To hurt a few people now or to let many more suffer in the future?!"

"But you don't even care about helping people!" I screeched.

"I used to," Helene said, her voice frigidly cold before she sat back down again and crossed her legs. She tossed her hair again and snorted in an exasperated manner. "After Team Plasma found out what I was doing, I was expelled from their ranks in disgrace. They wanted nothing more to do with me. And no sooner had they shown me the door, I was arrested for crimes of cruelty to Pokemon."

"Good," I spat.

"But it didn't end there, you know? Even while I was in prison, I thought of Nathan. Kept up with what he was doing. Heard about all the things he did after he left Team Plasma. He left not long after I did, you know?"

"He… he did?"

"Yes. Nathan grew unstable the longer he had to stay in Team Plasma. His desire for power couldn't be satisfied within Team Plasma even when he was promoted further and further up the ranks. He rebelled against the authority, argued with the others he worked with and tried to bully the grunts into doing what he wanted. He canvassed the young impressionable ones, trying to convince them to leave Team Plasma and join him in an attempt to find the legendary Pokemon. His efforts went largely ignored. I hear that he was finally isolated as being a danger to Team Plasma and was also expelled in disgrace."

I took a sharp intake of breath.

"Once I heard about his failed attempts, I saw an opportunity. A way for both of us to achieve what we wanted. I had to take that chance."

"But… but like this…?" I whispered hoarsely. "What… what do you even _want,_ Helene?"

Helene smiled. "It's simple. I want recognition; the credit I am due for all my achievements in science and psychology. I want my name and reputation restored. And of course, I want the power."

"You're just like Nathan…" I said in disbelief. "All… all you care about is power…"

"I am nothing like Nathan," Helene said coolly, getting to her feet again and slowly beginning to walk forward up to me, her heels steadily _clacking _off the polished floor.

"Don't kid yourself! You sound _just_ like him," I snapped. "You're like the two heads of a Doduo. You're _exactly _like each other. It doesn't matter what you want this power for, but you still want it!"

"You shouldn't tar me with the same brush as Nathan. He is a fool."

"A fool?" I repeated indignantly. "But I thought you and he had a relationship."

"Our relationship was… complicated," Helene said thickly. "There… there was no emotional connection. It was… physical. Purely physical." She said with a short laugh that I swore was tinged with bitterness. "He used me as he needed me. And when we were not being physical, we spent much of our time arguing and…" she broke off, grunting angrily, her eyebrows fiercely knotted together.

"You loved him, didn't you?"

"I… I beg your pardon?"

"You said you didn't have an emotional connection, but I'll bet that wasn't through lack of your trying," I said. "I think you loved him, but he didn't see you and your relationship as anything more than just physical. I think the only reason you're doing this is because you want him back!"

"Liar!" Helene suddenly spat.

"Touched a nerve, have I?" I said with a smirk. "What a shame. You come in here shooting your mouth off about being a strong woman and not needing a man, but you're just some insecure girl looking for the approval of a man!"

All of a sudden, I felt force collide sharply with my cheek. Pain exploded through the entire right side of my face and I let out a yelp as my head reeled back from the force. Stunned, I blinked up at Helene, my face burning, to see her looking down furiously at me, her hand still raised. I whimpered slightly, wracked by pain, but some part of me still feeling wickedly triumphant that I had her figured out. I had found a possible weak spot. And without my Pokemon, I needed to take advantage of every little weak spot I could find.

Helene turned on her heel haughtily to sit back down and a few moments of tense silence passed between us. My breathing rose sharply in my chest as my cheek slowly grew numb and the pain eventually slipped away. I didn't date to look at her for some time.

Eventually she let out an angered sigh, directing her eyes skywards. "Nathan's taking too long!"

"What...what's he doing?" I asked, my voice catching suddenly.

"I told you," Helene said, her eyes flashing dangerously. "He's taking care of your father and your little friends. We can't have them intervening."

"Taking care?" I shrieked, suddenly hysterical. "What's he doing to them?!"

A smug look passed over her face as Helene opened her mouth to answer, but she was suddenly cut off by a frantic fanfare of beeps that seemed to pierce the tense atmosphere around us like a burst balloon. I watched in horror as she fished around in the pocket of her long overcoat and pulled out a sleek, shiny state-of-the-art mobile phone. She pressed a button and spoke a very calm "Yes?" into the mouthpiece.

But no sooner had the call connected than I heard an almighty racket blast out into the muffled silence. I heard the roars of Pokemon and the noises of crashes, bangs and angry yells burst out from the other end of the phone. The Seperior that was holding me captive suddenly let out a manic hiss and spat viciously as the deafening noise rang out. Then, almost incomprehensible above the racket from the other end of the phone, I heard a furious voice.

"Helene! Get up here now!"

"Nathan...?" I whispered hoarsely, instantly recognising the distinct accent.

Helene looked stunned, her mouth swinging open in surprise. She looked like she was about to speak, but she was immediately cut off by Nathan's voice again, letting out a roar of "We have a problem! I need you here now! Bring the girl!"

And with that, the phone was abruptly cut off. Helene stood there dumbly for only a minute before she reacted with lightning quick speed, clearing the space from her chair towards the Serperior in one single leap. Before I knew what was happening, the Serperior had suddenly been recalled back into the Pokeball. My legs buckled at suddenly having to support my own weight again and I crashed uselessly to the ground, letting out a pained squeak as I did so. Winded and in pain, I couldn't even react as Helene's hand was suddenly gripping around my upper arm and I was hoisted to my feet. She proved deceptively strong, dragging me like I was nothing more than a child's ragdoll out of the door and up a flight of steep, dark stairs.

As I stumbled helplessly under Helene's strong grip and emerged into a brightly lit room, the noises of banging and crashing hit my ears and a sudden explosion ripped through a room adjoining to us. I looked around in fright, my legs still like jelly at being forced into use so quickly, trying to pinpoint exactly where I was. I vaguely recognised the hallway I was standing in, but I had no time to process it as Helene's grip suddenly tightened viciously and she let out a haggard snarl.

"Men! If you want something done, do it yourself!" she hissed, pulling out a Pokeball from behind her white overcoat. She didn't throw it but kept a tight grip on it, before continuing to pull me towards the door at the opposite end of the room. The numb, prickly feeling in my legs was slowly beginning to subside, but despite how much I tried to wrestle out of her grip, she held fast and wouldn't let me go.

Eventually, she pulled me through the door and we emerged into one of the big dojo training rooms, normally reserved for intense training or meditation. I let out a gasp in sheer horror as I realised it was destroyed; all the furniture was ripped away and lying in pieces and huge gaping holes adorned the walls and ceilings. In the centre, backing away slightly from an advancing Golem, an Onix and a Quagsire, was Nathan. Dad, Scott and a very nervous looking Bailey stood beside their Pokemon while Nathan looked flummoxed as the Pokemon advanced. But no sooner had the door behind us banged shut, Nathan turned around to us, a look of fury quickly spreading across his face.

"Helene! What have you done?!"

"What!?" she cried, sounding irked.

"It doesn't work!"

"_What_ doesn't work!?"

While she was distracted, I took my chance and eventually wrenched my arm out of Helene's grasp. She yelled out in surprise as I got myself free. No sooner was I free; a voice suddenly rose up like the bellow of a Rhydon.

It was Dad.

"Sienna! Not all the Pokemon are affected!"

"Dammit!" I heard Helene suddenly scream. "Why did you let them release their Pokemon, Nathan?!" she cried, suddenly hooking out two more Pokeballs to go with the one she was already holding and throwing them, revealing the Seperior and two more Pokemon that I had never seen before. She called them "Golurk" and "Cryogonal" and they were so frighteningly strange and abnormal compared to most Pokemon that I had ever seen that I was instantly intimidated and frightened by them.

As the Serperior and the two unfamiliar Pokemon suddenly swept towards Dad, Bailey and Scott, for a moment, a strange sense of calmness and clarity took over me as the significance of what Dad had just yelled to me just sunk in.

"_Not all the Pokemon are affected._"

I found a tremble descend all over my body at this information. Not every Pokemon was affected by Helene's technology! I remembered her mentioning some 'shortcomings' with her technology while she had been talking to me earlier… Could this be them? Could it be that certain Pokemon just weren't affected by the electrical signals? I studied the three Pokemon briefly. Quagsire, Golem and Onix… All stocky, hefty, Ground types. It would make sense if Pokemon like that weren't affected. Did I have any Pokemon that fitted that description?

But before I could even grab a Pokeball, I screamed as another Pokemon suddenly rose up in front of me. This one was huge and looked horrifyingly like a set of living gears, spinning erratically and making a horrible grinding noise as it approached me, a vague gormless face adorning one of the steely, churning gears. I screamed as the Pokemon suddenly dove at me, bodily tackling me to the ground. I hit the ground a lot softer than I had anticipated, but a sudden crackle of tingling electricity suddenly coursed through my body, making every single limb in my body seize up painfully. I let out a howl of pain as I felt the all-too-familiar paralysis set in. As I lay there, unable to do no more than twitch and groan in pain, the unfamiliar Pokemon disappeared from my sight. I lay there, the electricity sparking through what felt like every cell in my body, before an almighty bang ricocheted through the ground and the pained cries of an Onix came to my ears.

Then I heard laughter.

And then, I felt pain again. Unbearable pain. It blasted down my veins, coursing through every fibre of my being and I felt like my body was literally being torn apart from the inside out. Despite the paralysis, my body writhed and I let out a scream that seemed to go on forever. But as much as I screamed, the pain did not cease…

But then, above everything, I heard a voice. Above even the excruciating, throbbing pain that made me feel like my whole body had been lit on fire, above the sounds of my own screaming, the sounds of the crashing, banging, and sounds of battle, above the pained shrieks of Pokemon, I heard a voice.

A voice I never thought I'd hear again.

It spoke just one word.

"Sienna."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hey guys, another chapter for you all!**

**I don't have many excuses for not getting this out a little earlier, except for me being a little lazy…**

**Well, we're winding down now and the end of Free Spirits is within my grasp! I can't believe it…**

**Oh yeah, to anyone wondering, all the brain related research is pretty much my area of interest. I'm a psychology student, so I'm fascinated by all of it. And to anyone a little bit confused as to it all, there's still quite a bit of explaining to do in regard to how Helene's technology works. You know me, I never explain anything in just **_**one **_**chapter. **

**Thanks so much to my readers and reviewers! I don't have time (again, sorry…) to do personal replies, but thanks to Shadow-Wolf-Hikaru, MasterFreezeman, TCoBlackRoses, ArchXDeath, WarriorSwift and Shadow Serenity 57. **

**Until next time, guys! **

7


	44. The God Complex

When my eyes opened, the first thing I became aware of was a stunningly bright light that felt like it was scorching my eyes to just look into it. When my eyes finally adjusted to the harsh white light, I made kaleidoscopic splashes of colour spiralling dizzingly across my vision. I panicked at first, stumbling as I suddenly became aware of the fact I was standing on two feet and not lying down as I thought, wondering what the hell was wrong. Mad thoughts rushed through my head and I wondered if I'd hit my head and knocked myself out or even if I'd _died _and gone on to the afterlife, but the noise of that familiar, deep, sonorous voice quickly distracted me. I whipped my head around, despite the pain, and then almost fell to the floor again as I saw who the voice belonged to.

"Arceus!"

There was no mistaking the figure of that imposing, intimidating figure that was standing close to me, easily towering over me. The Pokemon remained stock still, not even so much as twitching as he spoke. "Sienna Volbeda. We meet again."

My breath caught in my throat. I stared at him in utter shock, my words stumbling erratically out of my mouth. "How did you—?! Why—? How—?"

"I told you we would meet again, did I not?"

Voiceless words chimed inside my head, a vague memory from two years ago that suddenly rang horrifically clear. "_We will meet again._" Despite my shock, I found myself chuckling slightly. "That… that really was you, then."

"Indeed," Arceus said, his head twitching in what could have been the slightest nod.

"Arceus, why… Why are you here?" I asked, my voice catching, then intensifying as I pushed the words out, my confusion coming in waves. "Why am I here? How am I here? What's going on?"

"Calm yourself, child." Arceus said, his voice sonorous and serene, oddly calming in the light of the panic I was experiencing. I felt strangely soothed by it, like a child lulled to sleep by the gentle words of his mother. It was amazing to think that a creature as intimidating and unbelievably powerful as I knew Arceus was, could still be reassuring and comforting. "I brought you here for a reason." He continued.

"B...brought me here?" I asked in confusion. "I… I don't understand! Why...why would you _bring _me here?! You... You could have... You could have come down to me, instead! That would've been a _lot _more helpful!" I said, gritting my teeth as I felt frustration set in.

"It is no longer safe for me to step foot on mortal soil." Arceus said, somewhat solemnly.

"Not safe?" I asked shrilly. "But you're a _God_! How can it not be safe?"

Arceus shook his head in a resigned manner. "Gods are not meant to walk on mortal soil. My presence upon earth those two years ago appears to have… diminished my powers…"

"Diminished?!" I repeated sceptically. "Arceus… you're a _God_! You're not _meant _to get… diminished! How does that even happen?!"

"I know not, child." Arceus said in what I could have sworn was a reproachful manner.

"I just… I just don't understand!" I murmured helplessly, a burning question that had been troubling me from the moment I had met Arceus finally pushing its way to the forefront of my mind. "If you're… if you're supposed to be… the God of all Pokemon, completely invincible and born from chaos, able to pass judgement on anyone you want and all that… how on earth were you captured so easily by Nathan and Team Quantum? It's not…! That just…! That just shouldn't happen!"

Arceus was staring at me quite calmly. "My child, you have already answered your own question."

"I… I have…?"

"Earth, my child." A flash of disappointment echoed across the Arceus's eyes. "Gods are not meant to walk among mortals. But you must remember, all men and all Pokemon were created equal in my eyes. They were created in the guise of of all legendary Pokemon. We are more alike than you may think, Sienna. I know you must have heard the stories of how sinful behaviour came to be created on earth and how it can affect even the best of people. Even… even the _godliest _of people. You must understand, child… it is not only mortals who succumb to such weaknesses…"

"So…" I whispered hoarsely, something suddenly becoming scarily clear. "Are you trying to tell me that…?"

"Enraged, prideful, or in the grasp of any sinful vice that plagues humans and Pokemon, I, the God of all Pokemon, become as mortal and as vulnerable as any of those I created on earth…"

"But _how_?! You're a God!"

"I know not of how this came to be," Arceus looked saddened. "But it has remained the same for as long as I remember."

"I… I don't understand…" I whispered hoarsely, my head swimming. "Are you saying that you… _lose _whatever it is that makes you a God whenever you go down to earth?!"

"Not entirely. I remain a powerful Pokemon. There is not a Pokemon alive that could hope to defeat me in battle—"

"And so modest too…"

The quip slipped out before I could even register I was saying it, and I instantly wished I could claw it back the second it came out. The Arceus turned and fixed me with such a hardened, icy look that I squeaked in terror. My heart hammered in my chest as I remembered "_Sienna, what are you doing? You are talking to the God of all Pokemon, not a friend! Don't mock him! Just because you've met him once before and helped him out doesn't mean he won't pass judgement on you at the slightest thing you do! Get a grip and behave yourself!"_

He glared at me one more time before continuing. "While I remain confident that I could not be defeated in battle by other Pokemon, I cannot escape the fact that I _am _still a Pokemon… A God among Pokemon, but a Pokemon all the same… A Pokemon still vulnerable to the same sin and weaknesses that plague others. I am no different than anyone else. If I go down there again, attempt to intervene, my rage will grow. If I set foot on mortal soil and become gripped by sinful behaviour or vices, I am vulnerable. I risk capture. And I cannot dare to risk that."

"So, you're a God, but… only if you're not on earth?"

"For arguments sake, we shall say yes."

"Okay, so… so I understand why you can't go down there…" I said, trying to mentally grasp the various threads that I felt were being dangled in front of me like someone teasing a Meowth with a string toy. "But why can't you… you know… pass judgement or whatever on Nathan and Helene? You know they're dangerous!"

"What do you expect me to do, my child? Kill them?"

My mouth swung open in shock. "N-no! I...I didn't say that! I..."

"I thought you disapproved of killing," The Arceus' voice hardened again and he was beginning to approach me, taking slow, deliberate steps. "Do you not remember, Sienna?"

"R...remember? Remember what?"

"'I don't think he deserves to be killed or anything like that. If he dies and we allow you to kill him… then we're just as bad as he is'." The Arceus paused, as if he was letting the gravity of those words sink in. "Do you remember those words?"

I grimaced, suddenly wanting to sink my head into my hands. "I do… It was me, wasn't it?"

"Indeed. And who were you adamant that I did not kill?"

"N…Nathan…"

"And do you regret that decision? Do you regret me not taking his life?"

"I…" I hesitated.

"I spared the life of an evil man at your insistence, Sienna. I did not want to spare him as I saw the blackness that suffocates his soul. But I spared him because you assured me that the man would be punished on earth and prevented from ever committing evil again."

"I… I know…" I said stiffly.

"So, tell me." Arceus's voice suddenly became stony. "In light of you not fulfiling your end of the promise, and him being able to commit evil again, was I right to spare him? Was I right to let him live?"

"I…" I floundered, not sure what to say.

"Tell me, Sienna!" he demanded, his voice cold. "Would it have been better if I killed that man? Made him feel every inch of the pain that he caused you, your loved ones and the ones around you? Would it have been better if he died a slow, agonising death as repentance for his evil deeds?"

"I… I don't know!" I cried.

"Yes, you do! Tell me! Would it be better if this man had died?!"

"I—"

"Should I have killed him? Torn him limb from limb? Tortured him? Made him feel all the pain he caused you?!"

"I… I don't—"

"Should he have died? Should I have killed him? Should I have taken—"

"N…No!" I suddenly cried, my voice shrill. "No, you shouldn't have! I… No-one… no-one should ever… No-one… not even someone like Nathan… deserves to die like that..." my voice was wavering horribly.

"Even if he caused others pain? Even if he delighted in the suffering of others? Even if he intended to kill others or _did _kill others?"

"N…no!" I cried out, feeling hot tears spill over my face. "N…Nathan… he's a horrible, evil man… but… I don't wanna _kill _him! Or… or _allow _someone else to! If I… if I allowed that to happen… I'd be no better than him…"

My shaky words hung tensely in the air for some time. All I could hear were the sounds of my own frantic sniffling as I tried to get my emotions back in control. My whole body shook and trembled in the aftermath of what I had just said. Then all of a sudden, Arceus spoke again.

"Good girl."

"H…huh? What?" I looked up in shock.

Arceus said nothing more to that apart from to turn on his heel away from me. "So you see now why I do not pass judgement on this Nathan, even though I may wish to. I owe you a debt of gratitude and if it is your wish that his life is spared, I shall not interfere."

"But if you can't come down to earth and you can't interfere by passing judgement, why did you even bring me here?" I asked thickly.

"There remains another reason why I chose to bring you here instead of interfering myself."

"And what would that be?"

"Because I do believe you are capable of stopping it yourself."

"Me?" I said at once in astonishment. "N...no! No, I can't… I'm not strong enough to do all that myself… I mean, haven't you _seen _what's going on down there?! Helene and Nathan have got this weird technology that messes with Pokemon's brains and my Pokemon won't listen to me! Even if they did, I'm totally outnumbered! I can't… I can't beat them!"

"Why not?"

"Because… because I'm just one girl."

"A single grain of rice can tip the scale, my child. Sometimes victory or defeat can depend on the efforts and actions of just one person."

"Well they got the _wrong _person!" I said vehemently.

"What makes you think that? You saved the world once."

"'Saved the world'?!" I snorted. "D…don't say it like that! It just sounds cheesy and cliché and stupid!"

Arceus was very quiet for a moment. "But if it was your fate—"

"And don't say fate either!" I snapped. "I hate that! The idea that… I'm _destined _to do all that! It's ridiculous! No-one's _destined _to do that kind of stuff! Life's not predetermined! There's no fate! Life just… life just falls into place as you go along. I… I…" I wanted to keep going, expel all the frustration and anger I had bottled up over the entire two years since the idea of fate had ever been brought into this, but I was wavering and trembling, my voice shaking and I found I wasn't even believing my own words any longer.

Arceus was watching me carefully.

"Arceus…" I whispered, feeling emotions swell up within me like the burgeoning waves returning to shore. The blindingly bright kaleidoscopic lights spiralling across my vision were beginning to make me feel sick and dizzy. "_Is _there such a thing as fate…?"

He was silent for a moment. "Why do you ask?"

"I just…" I said helplessly. "I just… I just don't know if there's any point in me fighting… If fate is real and… and… fate or destiny or whatever it is that's pulling the strings here has already decided things are going to work out a certain way, is there any point in me fighting it?"

"There is always a point to fighting," Arceus said at once. "The future… it is a funny thing. Too full of variables and possibilities to ever say for sure what will happen to us all, ultimately. Perhaps a person believes they will live to be ninety four and have fifteen grandchildren. But perhaps that same person will be knocked down and killed by a hit and run driver the very next day. Perhaps another person may be given a diagnosis of an aggressive cancer and told they won't live another five years. But perhaps that person may then defy all the odds, beat the cancer and outlive many of their friends."

"A... A lot of people like the idea of having things predetermined for them…" I said, somewhat thickly. "Like, no matter what they do, things are gonna work out that way for them so they then... don't try. And they call that 'destiny'. I… I call that laziness… But… sometimes I can't help but think that way too… I almost… think it's quite… nice and comforting to think that things are only ever gonna work out one way, and that's it… Like no matter what happens, I might still get a happy ending when it all comes to a close… But even if you believe that, I still don't think that you should ever stop trying to get a better life for yourself rather than just hope blindly that things will work out okay in the end…"

Arceus was watching me carefully. "What do you believe, Sienna?" he asked me, quite seriously.

"I don't know what I believe!"

"Yes, you do." He said, firmly.

"I…" I hesitated. "I don't think there's ever just one or the other… I don't think we've got an ultimate destiny that's set out for us the minute we're born, but at the same time I don't think we're free to shape every little thing that happens to us. We can't…" I took a deep breath in before finishing with "I think… I think both things need each other for balance…"

"So then, if you believe that your future is not entirely predetermined, surely you should believe there is always a reason to fight?"

I chuckled humourlessly, realising I had been well and truly caught out. "I… I guess so…"

"You guess so?" The tone to Arceus's voice was light, casual, almost...teasing, in a sense. I found myself instinctively warming to, and even liking the God Pokemon that stood in front of me, despite knowing all the anger and fury and contempt I knwe him to be capable of. I knew deep down, he was loving and fair and merciful, just like how I always envisioned a God to be.

I found myself nodding, fighting to keep a small smile off my face. "Yeah… if… if the future isn't really set in stone, then… I can change it, right?"

Arceus nodded.

"So… you think I could stop them…?"

"It doesn't matter what I think. Do _you_ think you can stop them?"

"I… I don't know…" I said truthfully, letting out a deep sigh. "Right now... It doesn't seem like… like there's much of a chance."

"There's always a chance." Arceus said defiantly. "Even if you can't see it, there is always a chance to make a change. Always. You just have to look for it."

"But… but everything just seems so…"

"Difficult?"

"Yeah…" I admitted softly and somewhat lamely.

"Difficulties will be present in no matter what you choose to do, Sienna." Arceus said sagely. "Life will always be hard. But perseverance and a good attitude will see you through anything. If you fight, no matter the odds, you can overcome whatever obstacles stand in your way."

"Even… even this…?"

"Even this."

"It… it won't be easy, will it?"

"It won't. But good things never come easy. And you must do this. Your family and your friends and your loved ones depend on you."

I nodded. "Yeah... I... I gotta protect my friends and family... They're what's important..."

I was beginning to tremble now, but Arceus nodded at my final statement. "I believe you're ready now. So, I shall return you to where you came from. I want you to remember what I told you, Sienna. Fight your way through whatever hardships are thrown at you. Find the weakness and push through it."

"I will." I resolved.

As those words left my lips, I suddenly became aware of a strange, floating feeling encompass me and my body became light, almost weightless. Darkness started to seep in at the edge of my vision and everything started to get blurry. I blinked, trying to clear my head, only now vaguely being able to make out the wavering form of Arceus. He was getting closer towards me and my heart was suddenly filled with an inexplicable fear…

"It won't be easy…" his voice was distant and quiet and I struggled to make out every word. "There will be a price to pay to see this suffering end…"

"_A price…_? _What price…? What does he mean…?"_

But with that one ominous sentence, everything melted away into blackness.

* * *

><p>I could hear voices...<p>

"...Enough! You've let me down, Helene!"

"I have done nothing of the sort! I warned you about the device's shortcomings!"

"There should not have _been _any shortcomings! Your incompetence has jeopardised the entire mission! You assured me the device would be _perfect_!"

"It would have been perfect had you allowed me the extra time I needed to make the necessary adjustments! But no! You had to go running in like a madman and because of that, I _had _to make do with what I've got!"

"Well, what _else _is wrong with it? So it doesn't affect Pokemon with thick skulls, which is bad enough when you're taking on a trainer who uses Rock and Ground types! What _else_ doesn't it affect?"

"_Thick skulls…? What…?"_

"Bah…"

"Tell me, Helene!"

"It… it doesn't affect Psychic Pokemon, for obvious reasons. And any Pokemon that has similar brain wave patterns to any of ours. I also noticed some abnormalities in Pokemon that have a rapid change in brain structure for whatever reason…"

I suddenly became very aware of the feeling slowly returning to my body and the conversation that I could hear echoing nearby to me. My mouth ran dry as Helene's words somehow permeated my hazy consciousness. "_Psychic Pokemon? Pokemon with thick skulls? Similar brain wave patterns? Brain structure changes? What…? Could this be what… what Arceus talked about_?" I suddenly stopped, the gravity of what I had just thought hitting me like a slap in the face. "_Arceus… that was Arceus…! Again! That was Arceus! But…" _My thoughts trailed off and out of instinct, I tried to move. But the paralysis shot through me again, feeling like an electric shock and I let out a low groan of pain. "_Oh God… I can hardly move... How could Arceus have moved me when I'm in this much pain? I wasn't _in _pain when I was… wherever I was with him. And how could he even have moved me without Nathan and Helene noticing? What… what the hell was happening? And what did he mean by…_" I found myself struggling to remember exactly what it was he had said. "_A price to pay…?_"

The noises of Nathan and Helene bickering were still ringing in my ears but I found myself unable to pay attention or attempt to decipher what they were saying. I could hear nothing apart from them, see nothing apart from the splintering wood of the dojo ceiling above me. A thought flashed through my brain, making an apprehensive jolt of excitement shoot through me. "_Pokemon with thick skulls… Psychic Pokemon… Pokemon with similar brain waves… and Pokemon with altered brain structure. They're not affected by Helene's device. That's… that's it… That's my opening._"

I twitched my limps experimentally but the shocks of pain that reverberated up and down my body were so bad that I had to bite down on my own lips just to stop myself screaming out in agony. "_Oh Sienna, come on!_" I told myself viciously. "_You've been paralysed hundreds of times! It's just pain! No pain, no gain! Get up!_" I moved my arm, somehow managing to raise it off the ground for a little while before it thudded back into the ground, useless. "_D…damn it, Sienna!_" I chastised myself, feeling frustration bubbling up inside me furiously. "_It's just pain! You've felt pain before! You've felt pain worse than this! Push through it! You've got a chance! Take it!"_

And although every iota of my body screamed in protest when I made even the slightest movement, I was somehow able to push myself into a sitting position. The paralysis was slowly and mercifully starting to ease and as control came back into my limbs, I turned my aching neck to see Nathan and Helene, practically nose-to-nose, yelling in each other's faces. Looking beyond them, I saw figures lying on the ground, both Pokemon and human alike. They didn't even so much as twitch at any of the noise. My heart crept up into my mouth. Nathan and Helene hadn't yet seen me. My breath came in ragged, sharp gasps as I realised I had a chance. I actually had a chance.

I stayed sitting upright until the feeling eventually slipped back into my limbs. Nathan and Helene were still bickering loudly and hadn't even so much as batted an eyelid in my direction. I didn't even dare to breathe too heavily in case they somehow heard me. While I tried to figure out what the heck I could do, I ran through the information I had managed to collect so far, trying to ignore the lingering foggy feeling still clouding my brain. "_Pokemon with thick skulls... Psychic Pokemon... Pokemon with similar brain patterns... And Pokemon that undergo brain structure changes...? I wonder..." _I glanced down at my belt before I plucked out one of the Pokeballs, a glorious realisation dawned on me. "Indigo..." I whispered.

My heart hammered brutally against my chest as soon as I dropped the Pokeball, expecting Nathan and Helene to startle as soon as the white light and noise of the opening capsule rang out, but mercifully, they remained too engrossed in their argument to notice. I held my breath as Indigo emerged, knowing that if she was somehow affected by the electrical impulses and she turned on me in any way, I would be finished. I prayed to Arceus up above as Indigo twitched and shook her head, looking bemused, that she wouldn't be affected. But my calm, serene Indigo simply blinked and whinnyed gently.

"Shhhh!" I hissed, frantically shoving a finger to my lips. "Indigo! Are you alright?"

She looked at me in confusion as if wondering why I was even asking.

"_Okay..._" I told myself. "_Indigo's alright, but... I can't take on Nathan and Helene with just her... I need to somehow stop that electrical impulse... But how? Maybe... Helene said that the impulse didn't have a lot of range... It must either be somewhere close or she has it herself... I... I should target her..." _I looked back at Indigo. "Indigo...can you give me a Future Sight?"

Indigo nodded and as she concentrated, readying the attack that would hopefully hit Nathan and Helene unawares, I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

"It's all down to me now..." I said, looking up at Nathan and Helene, still bickering, but formidable nonetheless against a backdrop of unconscious Pokemon and people. I sucked in my breath sharply. "Let's do this..." I expelled defiantly into the air.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**And here I am with another Free Spirits update =) This chapter officially marks the beginning of the end of Free Spirits and we'll be working towards the story's climax =) I'll be anticipating a full end in about five chapters (not including epilogues). **

**Well, I don't really have too much to say here, 'cept well done to the people who made the connection we would be welcoming back Arceus for this chapter =)**

**Also thanks go to my wonderful reviewers MasterFreezeman, WarriorSwift, Shadow Serenity 57, ArchXDeath and TwewyReaperGirl. **

**Well, that's it for this chapter =) Reviews are welcome as always, especially since we're coming up to the end of Free Spirits and the Spirited series now.**

**Until next time!**

7


	45. Lightning Strikes Twice Part I

My breath catching in my chest and determination coursing through my veins, I forced myself clumsily to my feet. I was still reeling from the effects of the attack and the paralysis, but I tried to ignore the tingling pain and heavy feeling weighing down my limbs. Indigo bayed softly next to me, sounding concerned as I staggered and stumbled, still a little uneasy. I wanted to reassure her but I didn't get the chance as it was at this point that the argument between Nathan and Helene reached a sudden violent climax. I heard a vicious _smack _and looked up to see an angry Nathan suddenly bellow ruthlessly at Helene, his hand raised and Helene cowering slightly, her hands clutching at her face. My heart leapt to my mouth. He had hit her! I automatically wanted to protest, but the second I moved, Nathan turned around sharply and he looked directly at me. Even from almost fifteen feet away, I saw his face instantly change as soon as he laid eyes on me. His mouth swung open in astonishment, then his face twisted into sheer unbridled anger and then his hand flew, lightning fast, to Pokeballs at his waist. "Helene! The girl!"

Helene, who had been cowering away from Nathan only seconds ago, quickly whipped her head up the second he spoke. I swore repeatedly as Helene and Nathan's hands closed around Pokeballs, but all of a sudden, a strange, tranquil peace suddenly descend on me. Despite the panic and the fear, I felt calm and serene aside from a burst of excitement that hit me as soon as I realised what was going on.

"_The Future Sight!"_ I thought in sheer glee.

Helene and Nathan didn't even see the attack coming. The massive, glowing and pulsating ball of energy emerged from seemingly nowhere, beaming towards Nathan and Helene at a scarily fast speed. Both yelled out in shock as the energy ball collided with them from behind, kicking up a huge explosion that sent them flying forwards and landing heavily onto the ground. They were winded and seeing them groan in pain, unable to move or reach the Pokeballs at their waists gave me a burst of hope.

"Indigo, get on them, now!" My voice sounded high and screechy and adrenaline was coming in violent tidal waves, electrifying me from within. "Psychic! Hold them in place!"

Indigo bayed obediently, springing forward on her strong legs and firing the strong shock of telekinetic energy at the still grounded Nathan and Helene. Both of them yelled in protest as they were suddenly bound in place by Indigo's impressive Psychic attack. My breath came in ragged gasps and my panic started to grow again despite the fact I had Nathan and Helene bound and currently not a threat. I knew they couldn't remain that way for long. I couldn't rely on just Indigo, I knew that. She wasn't the strongest of Pokemon, nor did she have the most stamina… If she dropped the attack or it wore off, I risked Helene and Nathan getting free and then stopping me. I had hit a massive stroke of luck already since neither of them had had their Pokemon out with them when I first mounted my attack, which had meant I didn't have countless enemy Pokemon to face with just my limited team. I knew that luck couldn't keep holding out. I knew in my heart that Indigo couldn't hold Nathan and Helene forever, as much as I wanted her to… I had to find some way to stop this before Indigo would eventually get too weak to carry on. I had to find the device…

But where could it be?

I thought of Helene first. No sooner had her name popped into my head, I broke off at a run, halting right in front of a struggling Helene and Nathan. "Helene! Where's the device?!" I demanded of her.

Literally the only part of her body Helene seemed to be able to move were her eyes and her mouth and she looked up at me, her eyes burning with fury. "I'd sooner die than tell you!" she spat.

"Do you have it?!" I barked at her, before kneeling down onto the floor and ripping open her white overcoat, checking in every pocket and fold for anything that looked remotely like a piece of scientific equipment. I blatantly ignored Helene's screams, Nathan's yells and every one the horrid insults and threats they flung my way as I searched her. But I found nothing. "Dammit!" I cursed, getting to my feet and looking around hopelessly. "Indigo! Keep holding them, okay?"

While Indigo whinnied determinedly and obediently, I forced myself to think calmly and rationally. "_Helene's not got the device on her. It makes sense because she even said herself that it had a short range. I… I don't think it would have even worked when she had me downstairs… And it's not affecting any other Pokemon in the area. That's a _very _short range. It… it must be in this room somewhere… It has to be!_"

I started to run around, going to every wall and every piece of furniture in the room, tearing it apart, looking for anything, any nook or cranny that could be used as a hiding place. I heard Helene screaming "You'll never find it! You'll never find it!", her screeching voice taunting and shrill, but I ignored her, continuing to rip apart everything I could get my hands on. Bookshelves, chairs, sofas, anything. Helene's cackling laugh and taunts ringing in the background only served to fuel my fervent desire and I vowed to myself I wouldn't give up till I held that device in my hands. But no matter what I pulled apart, no matter where I checked, I still found nothing. Panic gripped me in an icy hold as I looked around, my eyes constantly darting back at Helene and Nathan to make sure they were still incapacitated. With no clue what else to do, I darted over to the figures of my unconscious friends and family. Nikki, Jasmine, Scott and Bailey were all out cold. Elliot was also lying flat on his front, his fists clenched. He didn't even stir when I called his name. However, my father… He was awake.

"Dad!" I cried, getting to my knees and shaking him. He was weak and limp, looking like he was paralysed. "Dad, please! Where… where could have Helene hidden the device?! Please, Dad!"

His eyes were shut, but he was able to acknowledge me. "The..." he wheezed, his breath ragged. "Try… try the floorboards…"

"The floorboards?!" I repeated in astonishment.

"The floorboards!" He cried. "I saw Nathan… when he was here… last time… go to the floorboards once… I didn't… think about it… at the time, but… he could have… put it here then…"

"Where in the floorboards, Dad?! Where?" I demanded, cursing how groggy and out of it he was, wishing I could shake the answer out of him.

He coughed violently, before weakly pointing out the leftmost corner of the room. "Over there… loose floorboard… Hurry…"

"I'm on it, Dad!" I cried, immediately getting to my feet and turning around.

But no sooner had I turned around, I noticed there was a problem. It had only been a few minutes but Indigo was already looking weakened, her head bowed weakly and it looked almost like her legs were buckling under the strain of keeping Nathan and Helene in place. "Oh God… Oh God, Indigo!" I cried, running to her side. "Are you alright, girl?"

She bayed weakly at me, her eyes slightly lidded and glossy, and as I looked back at Nathan and Helene, they were beginning to struggle, evidently starting to break free of their binds. My heart leapt to my mouth and I started to panic, repeatedly swearing out loud and looking around blindly, desperate for something I could use to help myself. I vaguely entertained the idea of grabbing some kind of heavy blunt object and hitting both Nathan and Helene over the head with it, but I could see nothing that I could use. Realising I had so little options as it stood, I forced myself to think, try and come up with a solution with what little I did know.

"_Psychic Pokemon. Pokemon with thick skulls. Pokemon with similar brain patterns to theirs. And Pokemon that undergo sudden brain structure changes. I… I can't rely on Indigo. Not just Indigo against all of Nathan and Helene's Pokemon… But I don't have any more Pokemon that fit those criteria… I… I don't know what to do…_"

Indigo let out a tortured groan, suddenly sinking downwards onto her knees. I cried out in fright, suddenly terrified she would give in under the pressure and the pain and exhaustion, but my brave little Indigo was still holding on, still somehow keeping Helene and Nathan from moving. I still had time. I had to do something. My thoughts went to my friends' Pokemon. I knew Scott for a fact had Pokemon with thick skulls, thinking particularly of his Quagsire and Rhyhorn, but there were two distinct problems there. I didn't know where Scott kept those Pokemon and I risked pulling out any kind of Pokemon if I just opened Pokeballs randomly, and besides, I couldn't be sure Scott's Pokemon would even _listen _to me! This was exactly the same for my father. No, I couldn't rely on anyone else's Pokemon. I _had _to have a Pokemon that fit those criteria…

"_Maybe Cairo? He's a Ground type; I know those ones have pretty thick skulls… Oh, but Cairo's got a pretty small head… Well, if not Cairo, who else have I got? Meloi, no… Aurora…? No, I doubt it… She's big, but in her body, not her head… Monty… no… All there is left is Kiba… And he definitely does _not _have a big head…_"

But it was then, at the moment I thought of the name Kiba, that I realised something. As two separate pieces of the puzzle suddenly slotted together, a trembling wave of apprehension swept over me. Pokemon that had sudden changes in brain structure wouldn't be affected by Helene's device. But what could suddenly change a brain structure? The only way a brain structure could be changed would be if the rest of the Pokemon changed too. And there was only one way a Pokemon could be changed…

Evolution.

My shaky hand reached for the zip of the messenger bag I always carried slung around my body. I groped around until I found what I was looking for. I had wrapped it up in a small handkerchief to keep it protected, stashed it carefully in the inside pocket of the bag and long forgotten about it. I eventually unearthed the small, glowing, crimson red stone that had been given to me as a gift from Nikki's boyfriend, Christian. I ran my fingers along its contours, a strange warmth clinging to my fingers even when I moved them away. I looked at it in awe, a warm, glimmering glow like the burning embers of a fire seeming to emanate from somewhere deep within the stone's depths.

"Kiba…" I whispered, closing my palm around the Fire Stone.

My head was overwhelmed with emotion as I stared at my closed palm and the conceale. Was it right to force Kiba to evolve? Was he even ready to evolve? Even if I did evolve him, would that be enough of a change in his brain structure to stop him from being affected by that electrical impulse? I didn't know… But as Indigo suddenly cried out weakly, looking like she was about to faint at any moment, I made a decision. I seized Kiba's Pokeball and threw it. My heart hammered as Kiba emerged. He let out a pained yelp the second he was released, dropped to the floor and covered his head with his paws, his ears flat and his tail between his legs. I glanced upwards to see Helene and Nathan began to struggle more violently and I swore. I darted forwards, got straight down on my knees and grabbed Kiba by the scruff of his neck to stop him from moving.

"I'm so sorry, Kiba!" I cried out, before pressing the Fire Stone to his body.

The effect was instantaneous. The entire of Kiba's body immediately became engulfed in such a bright white light I had to immediately bring my hands up to my eyes to shield them. Kiba yelped in surprise as the stone began to take effect and I backed away as my tiny Growlithe suddenly began to grow! Before I knew it, my little baby Growlithe now stood taller than me and so wide and strong I could probably climb onto his back and ride him like a Rapidash. As the bright light wore off, revealing the striking vibrant orange and flashes of black on his fur, he barked loudly, the sound ricocheting off every available surface. I cried out in surprise at the sheer noise and power he demonstrated before he shook his great, shaggy head and looked down his long snout at me.

"Arrrrf!"

"Kiba!" I breathed out in shock.

"Arrrf! Arrrf!"

"Are you okay, boy?!" I dared to approach him and reach my hands out towards him.

He barked at me again as my hands came close and I squeaked, the noise of his booming, powerful voice practically deafening. I looked down at his huge paws, easily three or four times the size of the ones my little Growlithe had once padded about on. Instead of being able to look down at him, he now towered above me, his head almost a full foot above mine. His tiny little body that I could once scoop up into my arms like a little baby looked now like it was at least twice the weight of me. If my over-affectionate, fun-loving, licking monster Kiba knocked me to the ground now, he'd probably squash me. Or _kill _me. And those eyes… I looked deep into Kiba's eyes and saw they shone with determination and strength, not that childlike exuberance I had grown to love over the years I had been with him. It was like his wonderful childishness, his very essence, had just _vanished_, just like that and I didn't know the Pokemon that was standing in front of me. Where was my playful, cheery little soul…? Had I… had I lost him forever?

But as I was thinking this, already mourning the loss of my little Growlithe and wondering what the hell I had done, the giant dog Pokemon suddenly lunged at me! I screamed, expecting him to attack me, maul me with one of his giant, heavy paws or torch me with the blazing hot fire I knew he had under his command. I knew if he hit me with _anything _like that, I'd be a goner. But instead, his sandpaper tongue suddenly slid out of his mouth and then raked its way sloppily across my cheek. I squealed in disgust as he covered me in wet, sticky slobbers but at the same time, I giggled ecstatically, burying my face into his surprisingly soft fur. "K…Kiba!"

I cuddled my Pokemon tight, but then after a few moments, reality kicked in and it was with suddenness that I remembered what I was supposed to be doing. "D…dammit!" I cried, cursing myself, pushing myself away from Kiba and looking towards Nathan and Helene. Indigo was visibly struggling now, looking fatigued and I quickly pulled some spray on medicine from my bag. I motioned to Kiba to follow and darted up to Indigo, spraying her all over with the medicine in some vague hope to keep her strong and healthy enough to keep going. "Hang in there, girl," I pleaded. "You're doing so well! Please keep them down! Please!"

"You'll never get away with this!" Nathan rasped, straining his head to look up at me. "That stupid weakling Girafarig can't keep us down!"

"You just watch her!" I snapped, noticing that the medicine did seem to be working and Indigo was regaining a little bit of strength and control back, meaning Helene and Nathan weren't able to move as much now. "Kiba! I need you to stay here with Indigo! If… if she drops her attack, you _have _to stop these two from getting to their Pok—"

But before I could even finish the word 'Pokeballs', I was struck with a brilliant idea. Nathan and Helene couldn't get at their Pokeballs if I got rid of them! Immediately, I knelt straight down towards them, moving Helene's white overcoat aside until I found her belt with her Pokeballs at it. With a lot of tugging and some angered, violent negotiating, I eventually stripped the belt off her, collected the Pokeballs and ran straight towards the dojo window at the wall opposite to me. I wrenched the window open and threw all six of the Pokeballs outside as far as I could. I was about to turn around and go back for Nathan's, when something caught my eye.

I glanced towards the leftmost corner of the room and saw something didn't look right. Dad always kept his dojo spotless, right down to the smallest detail, and although I knew the room had practically been serving as a battleground the past little while, there was something still off about the way that just that tiny section of carpet looked scuffed and ripped, like someone had tried to tear it up. Remembering what Dad had said earlier, I automatically darted towards it, grabbing the scuffed carpet and pulling at it viciously. It came away surprisingly easy, revealing an uneven floorboard. I gasped and scrabbled at it desperately, the splintered wood puncturing my fingers like I was being stabbed with tiny needles. I pulled the first uneven floorboard away; it breaking into two clean pieces in my hands and immediately shoved my hand into the exposed floor. I felt around gingerly, stretching my arm into the gap as far as it could go, wincing as the broken edges of the sharp wood dug into the crook of my arm like shards of broken glass. I ignored it and continued groping around until the tips of my fingers finally brushed against something. I lunged for it, my heart banging into my chest but try as I might, I couldn't reach it.

All of a sudden, I heard frenzied barking. Gasping in shock, I quickly whipped my head backwards to see Kiba growling, snarling and snapping at Helene and Nathan. Panicked thoughts ricocheted through my head. I was seriously running out of time! I desperately lunged for whatever it was, finally grabbing it. It almost slipped out of my grasp as I yanked my arm out of the hole in the floor. I came away with a small rectangular device, no bigger than the average smart phone and blinking with a few ominous red lights. It felt compacted and heavy and I could feel a strange buzz emanating from the device which tingled at my fingers, like the static from a television you'd just turned off.

"That's the electricity..." I whispered to myself.

I turned the device up and down over in my hands, wondering what the hell to do with it. All I knew was that I had to destroy it, but I had absolutely no clue how to break something that looked that solid and well built. I gripped the weighted device tightly and threw it with all my might against the floor. But the device bounced harmlessly off the floor and I had to chase it halfway across the room to retrieve it. Swearing viciously, I tried again, and then resorted to jumping on top of the inanely blinking device in an attempt to break it when hitting it off stuff didn't work. But I didn't even seem to put so much as a scratch in it, let alone a dent. I looked up, my mouth opening to call on Kiba and hoping to try and use his flames just to _burn _the thing, when I stopped in abject terror.

Nathan was getting up.

"Kiba, stop him!" I screamed.

Kiba, mercifully, was on top of Nathan like a shot even before he could stagger to his feet. Growling and snarling, he sounded like a whole _pack _of rabid Mightyena rather than just one Arcanine. Helene was still bound, but it didn't look like she'd be staying that way for long and Indigo was in no condition to keep her busy much longer. I'd either have to break the device _now _or find another Pokemon to keep Helene at bay until I figured some way to destroy the device. But how could I destroy a device that almost seemed like it was made out of reinforced steel? I groaned in frustration, helplessly staring at the device as if waiting for an answer to just conveniently present itself to me.

"_What am I gonna do_?!"

A pained yelp suddenly startled me and I looked up to see Nathan somehow wrestle Kiba from him, his hand flying towards a Pokeball at his waist. I cried out in shock, but thankfully Kiba recovered quickly, tackling Nathan to the ground again.

"_Dammit, Sienna!"_ Panic was rising in me like a boiling kettle, threatening to bubble over any second. This situation was getting way too close for comfort! "_Think, woman! You've got an electrical device you have to destroy and two crazed bad guys running riot that you need to keep at bay! How can you short out an electrical...?"_

And with that, the answer came to me.

Electricity.

Electricity was the answer.

I wanted to kick myself for not seeing it sooner. It had been so obvious and I cursed the stupidity that meant I hadn't even seen it practically singing and dancing in front of my eyes. Electricity! Helene's device depended on electricity! The only reason it could stimulate the brain was because it used an electrical impulse! That's why Ground Pokemon weren't affected! And I had a Ground Pokemon! I'd thought that because Cairo didn't seem to have a thick skull that he'd continue to be affected, but I'd stupidly forgotten one massive detail. Cairo was a Ground type! Ground types were totally _immune _to electricity! My hand automatically reached for Cairo's Pokeball and I threw it with as much strength as I could. I was ecstatic to see that just as I had expected, Cairo didn't seem to be affected by the electrical impulse, but before I could instruct my Pokemon to do anything, I suddenly noticed something that sent a shock of fear through my heart.

Kiba had started whining and whimpering, his entire body trembling. He suddenly dropped to the floor, his paws over his head and started to growl. "No!" I cried out in protest as I realised Kiba had once again come under the spell of Helene's electrical device! "K-Kiba! How?!"

I looked to Helene, who was cackling wickedly as she got to her feet. "Just because your silly little Growlithe evolved doesn't mean the device isn't going to affect him!"

"Wh…what?!"

"Your Growlithe's brain patterns changed when he evolved, yes! You were clever enough to figure that out, but the electrical impulse _still _affects it! It just takes a little while to adjust to the new brain waves and work again!"

"Oh God, oh God…" I cried out in fear. "Cairo, quickly! G-get in and stop Nathan!"

I wasn't too worried about Helene; I had thrown her Pokeballs outside and it would likely take her some time to retrieve them. But I was still running out of time! As Cairo swept past and bodily tackled Nathan to the ground again, stopping him from pulling out a Pokeball only _just _in the nick of time, I saw Helene break into a run, heading for the nearest door to get outside. Panicking, I looked up at Kiba who was now growling and snarling at nothing in particular, baring his teeth and his claws scratching viciously at the ground. He was in the grips of the aggressive behaviour and there was nothing he could do to help me now. Indigo was lying on the floor, totally spent and exhausted, looking like she was barely even managing to stay conscious. The electrical device burned in my hands and I gripped it like I was trying to break it apart right there, but I couldn't…

"_Come on, Sienna… Think! Think_!"

Cairo had Nathan pinned to the floor now, keeping him down quite easily, but Nathan was screaming and yelling, cursing obscenities and threats that sent icy chills of fear down my spine. If Nathan got loose, I would be in severe trouble. Somewhere, I heard a door slam and my heart sunk. Helene had made it outside and it was only a matter of time until she found and retrieved her Pokeballs. If she got her Pokeballs, I was through. No questions asked, if she got to her Pokeballs or Nathan escaped Cairo's grasp, I was done.

"_I… I don't know what to do…_" I thought, helplessly looking at the electrical device in my hands, feeling tears prick at my eyes. I then winced in pain as static from the device clung to my fingers, making me curse under my breath. "_Stupid static…_!"

And then my eyes widened, the proverbial lightbulb moment finally hitting me. "_S…static! Oh God, why didn't I see this before?! This electrical device… if I can somehow hit it with some kind of electricity, I could… I could potentially overload it! But… but where could I get electricity…_?!"

At the moment, all the pieces fell into place. I knew instantly what I had to do. My trembling hand reached for the first Pokeball at my belt and I squeezed it tightly, my heart banging painfully in my chest. Common sense screamed at me not to do this, but for all I cared, it could scream until it was blue in the face and its throat was red raw, but I didn't care. This was the only way I could see to make things right and if I had to get hurt in the process to make it happen, then it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. Perhaps… perhaps _this _was what Arceus had meant when he said there was a price to pay…

"Meloi! Come out, girl!" I cried, throwing the Pokeball as hard as I could.

And as the figure of my Ampharos emerged from the blindingly bright light of the Pokeball, the entire of that tiny room exploded with crackling bolts of electricity.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, this is it, guys! We're building up to the climax and the end of Free Spirits is nigh :)**

**There isn't too much to say for this chapter; it pretty much speaks for itself, but expect some rather explosive battles and the final showdown with Nathan and Helene in the next few chapters.**

**Thanks so much to my wonderful regular reviewers WildCroconaw, Shadow Serenity 57, Shadow Wolf Hikaru, MasterFreezeman and TwewyReaperGirl.**

**Thank you everyone! And let's bring Free Spirits to a close!**

**Until next time!**


	46. Lightning Strikes Twice Part II

My mouth opened and I could call only one word.

"Meloi!"

No sooner had the name escaped my mouth in a mad, breathless rush, the bolts of neon blue electricity ricocheted all around me, the air alive with crackling electricity. A strong, pungent smell of burning invaded my nostrils and I let out an instinctive scream that tore at my throat as the bolts crackled and snapped, the static nipping painfully at my skin. I gripped the electrical device as hard as I could, kept my feet rooted to the ground, squeezed my eyes shut and bit down hard on my lips, trying to withstand the painful electricity flaring up all around me.

The shrieks of my Ampharos reached my ears, somehow clear and unmistakable above the electrical storm I was trapped in. My eyes felt stiff, almost like they were glued together from squeezing them shut so tightly. I forced them open and looked directly in front of me. Barely even visible through the bright blue haze of electricity I was just able to see Meloi right in the centre of it all. She was shrieking, such horrid, violent screams that it tore at my heartstrings with every breath she took. She looked a horrifying sight, electricity violently spilling out from what seemed like every pore in her body. My eyes bulged, my grip tightened even harder around the electrical device and my mouth swung open in pure, unmitigated terror. I tried to call her name, but my voice caught before I could even form the first syllable and it dissipated away into nothingness.

As I stood there, dumbfounded and petrified, my knuckles almost bursting out of my skin with how tightly I was clutching the device, Meloi suddenly turned around. Instinctively, I reached my hand out for her, but the sudden movement proved horrifically painful, burning hot pain searing through my outstretched arm. Crippled by the static, I crumpled to the ground onto one knee. The electrical device slid from my hands and dropped to the floor. Gasping with pain and gripped by panic, I tried desperately to reach out for it but, of course, it had landed just out of my reach. I cursed inwardly, a hot, clammy sweat erupting all over me. I forced my tired, heavy head up just in time to see Meloi dart away from me, electricity exploding and crackling around her as she moved.

"_What's… what's happening to her_?!" I thought in anguish.

I craned my neck, still stiff and painful from the static paralysing my limbs to see Nathan, still under attack from Cairo, Kiba barking and scratching viciously at the floor of the dojo like he was trying to claw straight through the wooden boards and my friends and family still lying unconscious. The only minor mercy I could pinpoint was the fact that there was still no sign of Helene. But I knew that wouldn't last long. I tried to wrench my body back into submission, spitting out every swear word I knew in the process of moving my stiff, static-heavy limbs. But the pain was almost unbearable and I could hardly move. Meloi's static had worked like a super adhesive, locking me right to the spot I was in with seemingly no hope of getting free.

Panicked thoughts rushed through my head. "_Helene's going to be back any minute! And Cairo can't keep Nathan down forever! And oh God, Kiba and Meloi could turn on me at any given minute…! Or… or they could turn on my family…! They're aggressive! They don't know what they're doing! They'd attack friend or foe alike without even caring! God! What do I do?!_" I looked back helplessly towards the device that was still blinking infuriatingly happily and merrily, looking totally unaffected by all the static. "_Dammit!_" I cursed again. "_That should… that should have done at least _something _to that stupid device! Surely!_"

I desperately tried to move again, shift my arm just an inch in the hope of grabbing the device. But to my intense frustration I could barely even summon up the tiniest twitch. I wanted to scream and bellow in anger, but I couldn't even muster up the strength to even scream. However, just as my frustration threatened to bubble over, I was distracted by the noise of a familiar voice. I looked up and locked eyes with those of my beloved Meloi. My Ampharos. But as I looked into her eyes, instead of seeing that familiar cheeky, mischievous look reflected in them, all I saw was anger and pain and rage. I kept my eyes right on hers, knowing full well she was in the grips of a force that neither she nor I could hope to break, but still, hoping against all hope that I could somehow get through to her.

"Mel… Meloi! It's me! It's Sienna, baby girl… Meloi! It's me!"

But Meloi's eyes just stared back at mine, devoid of any emotion but sheer, unbridled rage. My heart leapt to my mouth, an icy cold sweat broke all over me and I knew what was going to happen before it even did. All I could do was squeeze my eyes shut and brace myself for the oncoming impact. It came infinitely more painful than I ever could have expected it to. Meloi's tiny fist came into sharp, brutal contact into my abdomen and I screamed as pain blasted through my chest and stomach. The pain was accompanied with a vicious jolt of electricity that took root inside me and shot straight through me, making my heart judder and flutter painfully somewhere deep within my chest. My whole body was knocked backwards and my head slammed straight off the floor. I coughed violently, black smudges blotting the corners of my vision, my entire body wracking and seizing. I coughed again and felt something slowly trickle down from the corner of my mouth. I couldn't even raise my hand to wipe it.

I tried to speak, but my breath came only in weakened gasps. "M…Meloi…"

No matter how often I called her name, she didn't come again. Everything fell ominously silent. My breath caught in my throat, as for that one moment, everything was still and quiet, like someone had just put life on 'pause'.

But then, all hell broke loose.

The noises were horrifying. It all came in an almighty burst, banging, crashing, all tinged with the accompanying crackling of electricity and fervent battle calls. Then, a rush of heat blasted across my body and just at the edges of my peripheral vision, I saw flames spiralling up in great, massive plumes. My heart jumped in my chest as I realised what was happening. It was Kiba and Meloi. They sounded like they were right in the middle of a battle! This was so dangerous! They were attacking without any care or knowledge of who or what was getting in their way! Friends and foe alike were in danger. And if I just lay here uselessly any longer, the entire dojo and everyone in it might just be destroyed in front of my very eyes.

I twitched my leg experimentally but the simple movement proved excruciating. A long, anguished groan escaped me. The pain was unreal! However, much to my amazement, I found my limbs were no longer heavy and I could move them again! Although pain shot through me with every breath I was able to push myself back into a sitting position. I saw Cairo, somehow still managing to keep Nathan at bay, and Kiba and Meloi scrapping with each other, stray plumes of fire and lightning bolts exploding around them. I cursed as I looked up again, seeing a figure move in the corner of my vision. I instantly panicked, expecting it to be Helene, but it wasn't. I saw red hair and familiar eyes and then a strong hand hooked around me. Squealing in pain, I was lifted clean of the ground and settled firmly onto my feet.

"D…Dad!"

"Sienna!" he sounded tense and alarmed, his hands tight around my shoulders. At the same time however, it was like he barely even noticed I was there; his eyes were looking straight through me at the scene of wanton destruction unfolding in front of us.

"Dad, I found the device!" I cried, somehow lunging for it and grabbing it, before practically shoving it in his face. His eyes widened and bulged the moment he saw it. "B-but I don't know how to— I thought electricity, but nothing…!" my words came out in violent, unstoppable floods. "And Nathan! Cairo can't… keep him forever! And Helene, she'll be back!"

"Leave Helene and Nathan to me," Dad suddenly said firmly. "Helene may be a genius, but what genius designs a piece of brain altering equipment that works on electrical impulses and then tries to use it on a master of Ground and Rock Pokemon?"

"She said Nathan didn't give her enough time…" I said stupidly.

"Well, I'll thank Arceus for that," Dad said at once, loosing three Pokeballs from his waist. "Sienna, you destroy the device. Do whatever you have to do to destroy it. Nathan and Helene _can _be stopped but only if that thing isn't working. I'll hold them off as long as I can, but this is all on you! Can you do that for me?"

"D-Dad, I—"

"Can you do that for me?"

"I… I don't know!" I cried helplessly, feeling insurmountably swamped by the pressure I had to face and wishing more than ever that the ground could just swallow me up.

"Listen to me, Sienna Volbeda!" his hands suddenly seized around my shoulders even tighter than before and I squeaked instinctively under his vice-like grip. "You… you… you're your mother's daughter, anyone who knows you can see that. I know I can't deny it. You… You're compassionate, you're independent, uncompromising, and you know exactly who you are and what you want out of life. Exactly like your mother. But… but you also have the fiery, burning determination and stubbornness that only a Volbeda can know! That's why I know you can do this!"

"Dad, I—!"

"We don't have any more time!" His hand closed around my wrist, and as I looked down, I saw I was still wearing the present he had given me for my birthday. Now that I thought about it, I didn't think I'd ever taken it off since he had given it to me. In that one moment, despite the serious situation and imminent danger, my eyes were wholly fixated on that small bracelet of ruby red beads, peppered with tiny flowers in all manner of hues, colours and shades. The sight of it there, securely fastened around my wrist with Dad's fingers right by it made a shiver dart down my spine. I stared dumbly at my wrist for a moment before Dad suddenly leaned his head in close. I squeaked in surprise as his rough, scratchy skin suddenly bumped against my forehead in what I could have sworn was a kiss.

"Dad!" I cried out in surprise.

"You can do it, Sienna!" he told me firmly, before gripping the Pokeballs tighter in his hand and drawing away from me.

And just like that, Dad tore away from me, three Pokémon bursting from the capsules as he moved. Desperately I looked down at the electrical device I was holding on to loosely in my right hand. I forced myself to think about the task at hand and it was with a shudder I realised the severity of it all.

"_I don't have a lot of time! I need to get this thing overloaded! I wonder if I could—!_"

My thoughts were rudely interrupted by a bolt of lightning slamming down next to me, blasting straight through the floorboard it hit. I screamed, instinctively diving out of the way as splinters of wood erupted around me. The lightning bolt had missed me by mere inches and as I whipped my head upwards, I saw Meloi bathed in a backdrop of crackling blue electricity walking slowly towards me. Her eyes were so full of rage and anger that I automatically backed away, clutching the electrical device to my chest like it would somehow protect me. "M…Meloi!" I cried out, my voice sounding shrill. "Please, girl, listen to me! It's Sienna!"

As she got closer, I was able to take a better look at her eyes. They remained so full of violent rage, but now they looked so hauntingly empty at the same time. It was almost like she was some empty shell acting under the beck and call of a puppeteer and my Pokémon's very soul, spirit and essence had just been stolen away. Panic rose frantically in me and I started shouting her name over and over again in some vague hope that she would understand. That she would recognise me. That I would somehow get through to her.

But my pleas proved useless. As I sat there, grounded helplessly and unable to move, Meloi suddenly let out a cry of rage unlike anything I had ever heard before. I screamed as a bolt of electricity suddenly shot towards me quicker than I could even register. I screeched as the crackling bolts engulfed me, the pain instantly shooting straight down every single one of my limbs. They contorted and seized violently like I was having a fit, but mercifully, the pain subsided quickly. I was left drained and weakened, however, and I groaned as I tried to summon up enough strength just to lift my head up to look Meloi in the eye.

"Meloi, baby, it's me!" I begged. The electrical device in my hands was beginning to feel increasingly hot, but I barely even noticed it. All I cared about was my Pokémon, my closest friend, the one who had been through everything with me, standing there with no clue who I even was. My heart ached with crushing sadness, overpowering even the aches of my electrified limbs. "It's me, Sienna! Don't you remember me?! I… I took you in from Professor Oak when you were just a little Mareep! I… I helped you get over all your trust issues! I… I cared for you! I'm… I'm your friend, Meloi! I'm your best friend! You mean all the world to me, Meloi!"

All I got for my efforts was another shock of electricity, this one even more painful than the previous one. Crying out in pain, I stumbled to my knees, the electrical device almost slipping from my hands in the process. I forced my aching head to look upwards. "Meloi! P-please, Meloi… Listen to me! Please… please… I'm your trainer!"

I was vaguely aware of a hot, burning sensation tingling through my hands and fingers, almost like pins and needles, but I couldn't focus on it. I couldn't even bring myself to look around for Dad, Nathan and Helene. All I cared about was Meloi.

"Meloi, please!"

"Aaaaaamph!"

I let out a scream of horror as she fired electricity at me again. This next shock was almost unbearable, sending bursts of red-hot pain through what felt like every cell in my body. I screamed, doubling over and squeezing my eyes shut. Coloured lights danced across my vision and I felt light-headed and dizzy. Weakened curses escaped me and the electrical device began to slowly slip from my fingers. I fought to keep a hold of it, but it was then that I noticed something seemed to be wrong…

The device had begun blinking erratically and rapidly and it was starting to feel hot in my hands. It was emitting a low buzzing noise and just holding it made my hands tingle all over. I frowned deeply, wondering what the hell was going on before it suddenly hit me like a slap in the face.

The device was overloading!

A burst of excitement took over me as I stared at the device that was blinking and buzzing madly in my hands. I could already tell it was starting to malfunction! If I could just give it one more good shock, I just might be able to completely break it! I looked down at the device and then looked at Meloi, knowing instantly what I would have to do. She looked distracted, some noise and commotion nearby alerting her attention. She stopped momentarily and my heart thudded in my chest as she halted. I followed her gaze and looked across to see my Dad and Nathan squaring off to each other. Cairo was still circling Nathan slowly and deliberately, as if daring him to move, and a Steelix that I knew belonged to my father stood protectively by his side. It almost looked like Nathan had been totally cornered, but it was at that moment that a door burst open and Helene came in. She moved like a blur, faster than I ever would have anticipated her to be able to move and she threw two Pokeballs. Before I knew what was happening, two unfamiliar and intimidating Pokémon burst out into the fray and immediately swept towards Nathan and Dad.

I didn't want to watch what was going to happen. All I knew was that I had to get this device broken now! With Helene back now, things were going to get rough!

"Meloi!" I screamed, trying to get my Pokemon's attention as she watched the scene unfolding at the other end of the room.

Every inch of me burned with a pain that spread like a white-hot fire. I knew I couldn't physically take much more, but the burden of responsibility and pressure burned stronger and harder than any pain that could be inflicted upon me. I knew what I had to do.

"Meloi!" I screamed again.

This time, she turned her attention to me, her eyes touching on me and flashing dangerously.

"Meloi! Shock me!"

I almost anticipated it to be instantaneous. She had certainly never had many qualms about shocking me before now, even in her playful jest, and in the grips of rage I had totally expected it of her without a backwards glance. But no sooner had the command left my mouth, she stopped in her tracks and looked at me dumbly. For a moment, it looked almost as if she was considering what I had just said.

"M…Meloi…?" I asked slowly, then quickly righted myself. "Meloi, shock me! You need to shock me!"

But all she could do was stare at me. There was a look in her eyes that I hadn't quite seen there for some time. The rage looked diminished…

"Meloi…?" I whispered, my voice cracking a little. "D…do you recognise me, girl?"

I stood there in disbelief for a few seconds. Had I got through to her? Had I actually gotten through to her? My breath came in ragged gasps as she took a cautious step forward. "Meloi… Meloi, it's me. It's Sienna! Meloi, I need you to shock me! I need you to shock me _now_!"

"Amph!" she suddenly cried out, sounding like she was protesting.

"Do it!" I cried out. I held up the electrical device to her eyeline, hoping she would focus on it. "Shock me! Look at this device, Meloi! If we destroy it, we can take out Nathan and Helene! We can stop them hurting everyone! But you _need _to shock me for it to work! You have to do it!"

"Aaaamph!"

She fired a bolt of electricity in anger, but it ricocheted away in the opposite direction and fizzled into nothing.

"Meloi!" I cried out, trying to grab her attention again. "Shock me! Shock me, now!"

"Aaaaaaamph!" she cried out, shaking her head frantically.

"Meloi, please!" I begged, my panic starting to swell again. I didn't know exactly how Meloi seemed to know me now, how it was she came to display some sort of recognition towards me, but I needed that so desperately! But to my abject horror I realised that even though she knew me, she still refused to obey me! "Meloi, I'm your trainer!" I cried. "You need to listen to me!"

"Amph!"

"Do it, Meloi!"

"Aaaamph!"

"Do it, Meloi! This is important! Shock me!"

"Aaaaaaaaaamph!"

"For Arceus's sake, Meloi! Just shock me! Do it! Don't you trust me? I know what I'm doing, Meloi! Don't worry about hurting me, just trust me! Just do it! This is an order! Just shock me!"

I could barely even watch her as I begged her to shock me again and again. I wholly expected her to keep protesting, but as I dared to look at her, I saw something flash across her eyes. With a bellowing shout, she suddenly stood strong and solid. My mouth swung open in amazement and I tried to speak, but it was then that the shock came.

The pain was excruciating. I let out a scream that I felt could rip apart my throat from the sheer pressure of it all, my entire body seizing and contorting like my limbs were being sharply pulled in all directions from some unseen menace. My whole body slumped forward and I fell onto my knees, tears escaping in floods as the pain shot through me like fire. But just as the electricity died away, a hot, burning sensation blasted through my hands and as I looked down, I saw the electrical device begin to smoke. I let out a yelp of pain as it grew almost unbearably hot and I had no choice but to throw it down. It hit the ground and bounced away, smoke billowing and belching out of it frantically like a frightened Koffing. When I looked down at my hands again, I saw the skin red and already blistering, giant sores forming on my palms and fingers.

The pain was distracting for only a moment as I suddenly heard a yelp coming from nearby. I looked up to see Kiba suddenly stop in his tracks, jerking his head upwards and surveying his surroundings with an inherently confused expression. My heart leapt. His rage and anger was gone! My shaking hands found the other Pokeballs that swung loosely in my belt and I somehow unhooked them, releasing Aurora and Monty. Their expressions were calm, almost composed, completely a stark contrast to the way the Pokemon had been behaving before now. My heart soared and with a cry that tore at my raw throat, I called for my Pokemon.

They came to my side almost immediately; even Indigo who had been lying in a crumpled heap in a corner. Cairo, who had been keeping Nathan at bay, instantly dropped what he was doing and joined me. A rush of adrenaline coursed through my veins, a welcome change from the bursts of pain that had been previously plaguing me. I looked up to see Nathan and Helene stop dead in their tracks at the sight of my renewed party. Their mouths hung open in astonishment as they realised what had happened, while Dad looked triumphantly across at me with a wide grin.

I couldn't help myself but grin broadly as I looked down at my faithful team, newly restored and ready for battle. With my Pokemon now free from the jaws of Helene's heinous, mind-altering technology, I was finally in a better position to fight. And I knew that with my team by my side, I stood a chance of beating Nathan and Helene. I clenched my fists together and pulled together the remaining threads of my courage.

"Come on, guys!" I called my Pokemon to attention, locking my eyes straight with Nathan who still looked horrified and dumbfounded at the realisation my Pokemon had been freed from the impulses of the electrical device. I took a deep breath in and calmed my nerves, looking towards my Dad for resolution. "Let's do this!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hi guys! Finally have an update for you xP **

**I'm so sorry this one took so long, but I've started back at university so I don't get a lot of time to write. I will however keep going as much as I can and you will see the ending of Free Spirits hopefully before the end of summer. **

**Big thanks to my reviewers Shadow Serenity 57, MasterFreezeman, TwewyReaperGirl, TCoBlackRoses, WildCroconaw, ArchXDeath, PaleTeen, Scheherazade's Sonata, SGWAH, TestedHD and TheHarryPotterBookworm. **

**Also, to any fans of my writing, please be on the lookout for a super-special-awesome BRAND NEW POKEMON FANFICTION coming soon =D**

**Until next time! **


	47. Hellfire

For a moment, one brief moment, time seemed to stand still and a harsh tense silence encompassed the room, almost like in the unsettling, suffocating starting seconds of an important race. And then, suddenly, Pokémon leapt at each other from all sides, clashing violently in explosions of fire, ice and lightning. Without even realising, I was left in command of six Pokémon all at once, my father yelling instructions to the various beasts and brutes of Pokémon he commanded while the twelve opponents on Nathan and Helene's sides tore into us relentlessly. Everything was a blur, such a mad, manic rush that I could barely even process what was going on, let alone hope to react to each individual occurrence. My Pokémon bellowed and howled, a horrific, nerve-jangling sound, a merging combination of cries of anger, stocky determination and bitter pain as they battled, degenerating into a vicious, writhing scrum. My panic rose in me in great swells, like the powerful currents cruelly manipulated by the burgeoning winds out at sea. My eyes darted back and forth until everything became a haze that I simply couldn't hope to clear. My legs shook until I feared they wouldn't be able to support me any longer, my mouth ran dry until all I could do was draw ragged, croaky breaths and I felt a scream tickle the back of my throat as my Pokémon clashed and scrapped, bodily tackling each other, the entire ghastly scene lit up against a vibrant backdrop of explosions, fire, lightning and pulsating torrents of water.

"Sienna!"

A pair of hands suddenly seized me from behind, causing me to shriek. However, quick as anything, the grip loosened and softened, and I heard Elliot's voice, comforting and gentle whispering in my ear. Just the sheer noise of his voice made me feel secure and my stretched nerves eased, despite the violent, constrictive haze I was trapped inside. "Sienna!" he called again.

"Elliot!" I cried, instantly spinning around in search of his voice, my hands instinctively reaching out and pulling him close. "Elliot, I…!"

"Sienna, it's alright!" Elliot said, drawing me into a hug. However, his hand suddenly sought out the Pokeballs at his waist. "Nathan and Helene are good, I won't argue with that, but there's no way they can take us all on!"

"N-no!" I protested, immediately thinking of the rest of our friends, still mostly unconscious and injured at the end of the room. "You… you can't stay! You have to get everyone out!"

"What?!" Elliot looked aghast. "N-no! I won't leave you!"

"And we can't leave _them_!" I insisted, wishing I could just grab him around the shoulders and forcefully shake some kind of sense into him. "Are you _mad_, Elliot? Don't you understand?! They're all unconscious! And if all this goes out of hand and they get caught in the crossfire, then—!"

"Si-Sienna!" Elliot's face, which had been twisting like he was in pain the whole time I was speaking, suddenly fell. He cut me off abruptly, his voice noticeably strained. "A…all right… I'll… I'll get everyone out… B-but… but you!" His face suddenly became marred with resolve and his grasp tightened around me. "You… you be damn careful, alright? Don't do anything stupid! If you… if you dare do anything to jeopardise your own safety, I'll… I'll never forgive you!"

When Elliot fell silent, I felt strange all over, caught in the grips of a prickling cold. I tried to speak but there was nothing adequate I felt I could say to Elliot's plea. His voice was wavering dangerously, thick with emotion and his eyes looked suspiciously watery. It broke my heart, my sadness clinging to me with its fish-hook claws. All I could do was reach out, slot my arm around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. It was maddeningly brief, lasting barely all of a few seconds before I pulled away.

He looked stunned for a few moments, before his entire face seemed to droop and fall like he has resigned himself to some unspeakable fate. Even his posture changed, the whole of his body falling limp, like a puppet cut from its strings. His hand reached out and touched my face, his fingertips soft and light, almost like the touch of a ghost. "Please…" his voice was hoarse, barely even audible. "Please… just be safe. Promise me that you'll be safe. Promise me that you'll come back to me…" his voice cracked on the final word and he looked away, his shoulders trembling.

"Just… just you try and keep me away!" I said fiercely, clinging onto his hands. "But you… you have to promise me that you'll look after everyone… that you'll keep them safe."

"I… I will…"

"Promise me!"

"I promise."

I leaned forward, fully intending to kiss him again, seal our promise, but the horrid, piercing scream of a Pokémon made me instantly wrench myself away. I turned around so fast I almost tripped over my own feet, my eyes scanning around the room looking for its source. My Pokémon were all bound to the responsibilities of battling, so at first I had no idea which one was in trouble. But then, I saw it. My poor Indigo, already weakened to the point of bitter exhaustion was tackled to the floor under the giant might of a Krookodile. A frightened yell escaped me as her tiny fragile body completely disappeared under the Krookodile's massive girth. It was crushing her!

I yelled out, begged and pleaded for any of my other Pokémon to come and help, somehow rescue her. But no-one came. Meloi was in the middle of fending off a Mandibuzz, Aurora was desperately trying to keep a Chandelure at bay, Monty was locked into combat with a Butterfree, Kiba was snapping at the heels of a Reuniclus and Cairo was taunting a Klinklang. I couldn't even focus on what my father's Pokémon were doing. All I cared about was my little Girafarig, slowly, and no doubt painfully, being squashed under the incredible weight of the Krookodile. She squealed and bayed, her thin limbs scrabbling uselessly.

"Please!" I screamed in Nathan and Helene's directions, completely at a loss as to who the giant brutish Pokémon even belonged to. "It's killing her! It's killing my Pokémon!"

But my pleas went unheeded. In fact, it only seemed to make Nathan and Helene laugh, call out their commands with even more gleeful pleasure and exuberance than before. My breath lurched out of me in sporadic, horrified gasps as I screamed for Indigo, over and over again, my heart rate intensifying with every second she remained trapped under there. However, just as I feared the Krookodile would end up crushing the very life out of my Pokémon, a giant Golem suddenly bulldozed past, colliding straight with the Krookodile. It was Dad's Golem! I watched in amazement as the Golem swept the Krookodile straight off my Girafarig, leaving her undoubtedly unconscious, but so far as I could tell, still alive. The two massive Ground types seized each other, roaring and bellowing right in the other's faces, grappling like sumo wrestlers trying to knock the other out of the ring. I glanced at Indigo, quickly holding up her Pokeball to recall her. She was done. There was no way she could fight any more.

As I stood there, trying to digest what had almost just happened, something darted across the edges of my peripheral vision. I looked up to see Helene approaching me. I let out a gasp, staggering backwards, inexplicably frightened just at the mere sight of her. She lunged for me, her fists closing around the front of my shirt and she yanked me foward. I tried to struggle, get away somehow, but her grip was tight, and try as I might, I simply couldn't wrench myself away. She pushed her face right up against mine, so close that our noses practically touched. Her breath broke out in waves over my face, her eyes narrow and ablaze with anger.

"You! You little bitch! You'll pay for what you've done!"

I found myself looking deep into Helene's eyes. They were mad, crazed, but strangely glassy, almost like they held no conviction behind them. They were eyes of someone who almost looked like they'd given up. Eyes of someone who was just mad for the sake of being mad. I locked my gaze with hers and I found I wasn't afraid.

"Yeah? I'll pay for it?!" I demanded of her. "Pfft! What can you do to me?! What can a so-called genius scientist who designed such an _ineffective _device do to me?! I'm no scientist, Helene, and you can sit there and preach to me about your superior intelligence and all your university degrees and all that, but what sort of _idiot _designs a piece of equipment that works on electrical energy and then tries to use it on _Ground _Pokémon?! Are you insane? I don't pretend to know how all that physics crap works, but I do know that electricity doesn't _affect _Ground types!"

"I did the best with what I had!" Helene snarled. "If _you_ hadn't interfered there would have been no problem!"

"Face it, Helene! Your design was flawed!"

"Nathan didn't allow me any more time!"

"Oh, what a shame!" I cried, letting out a little burst of laughter, before I found my voice taking on this peculiar hardened edge. "You're no scientist, Helene! No real scientist would send out a piece of inferior equipment!"

"You shut your mouth!" she hissed.

"No, I will _not _shut my mouth!" I yelled back. "Face it, Helene! It's all your fault that this little operation is crumbling around you! Nathan says 'jump' and you say 'how high?' don't you? All you cared about was getting his approval! So as soon as he said he wanted the technology, you gave it to him without a second thought! Just to please him."

"Shut up!"

But I didn't listen and ploughed on regardless, my throat raw, and my entire face hot and flushed. "You compromised yourself and what you knew as a scientist! And for what? The approval of some guy! That's disgusting! You're no scientist, Helene! You're just a stupid, lovesick fool!"

"Shut up! Shut up! You… you don't know anything!"

"Do you wanna know the best part?! The words were spilling out of my mouth now in floods. I was surprising myself with everything I was saying, shocked at the horrible, cutting, brutal things that I spat out without even thinking. "Nathan will never love you!"

As those words left my lips, I suddenly felt force collide with my face. It was so strong my entire body twisted around from the impact and I stumbled, lost my footing and came crashing down to the ground. I looked up in shock to see Helene standing above me, her hand raised in the shadow of a strike. She had slapped me and I felt the pained area gingerly. Helene's chest was heaving, her breath juddering and her eyes wild.

There was blood in my mouth and I spat it out onto the floor. "Is that all you can do?" I asked her, wiping the leftover red smear from my lips. "Hit out because you know I'm right?"

"You don't know anything about me!" Helene snarled.

"On the contrary, I know _everything _about you!" I cried, getting to my feet. I wobbled and staggered, my body cripplingly exhausted. I took a few seconds to steady myself. "I know, because… because… because I know exactly what it feels like to think you'd do whatever it takes to get the approval of a man!"

For a few moments, Helene and I just faced each other, the battle raging on around us. I couldn't even bring myself to pay our surroundings any attention. I was too fixated on Helene as we stared each other out, my arms clutching at each other for support. I wasn't sure which one of us was going to move first or what would happen when one of us eventually did. Against all common sense, I dared to hope that what I had said had stirred something in her spirit, possibly even make her see some kind of sense. I found myself praying that she _would _see sense. As much as I hated to admit it, something had become abundantly clear to me. I despised Helene for her evil-doings, that much was obvious, but I couldn't deny she and I were in similar situations. We both yearned for the approval of a man we feared, hated and loved. And tragically, from whom we most likely would never gain that approval. I realised, with a vivid horror, that I probably despised her as much for the fact we were so alike as for the fact we were so different.

My moment of clarity was violently punctured and destroyed as a sudden crash sounded from only a few feet away from where Helene and I were standing. I glanced over in shock just in time to see a Golurk completely flatten my dad's prized Machamp with an expertly timed Shadow Punch. I let out a screech of surprise as the giant Fighting type came flying towards me, and I had to dive to the side to avoid being bowled over by it. Once the Pokémon hit the ground, it stilled and didn't get up again.

"Oh no…" I said, my heart in my mouth. I couldn't even see the Pokemon's chest rise and fall. "Is it…?"

I couldn't bring myself to look at it any longer and forced myself to turn my head away. The situation was beginning to look dire. Everywhere around me, Pokémon were at war. However, to my absolute horror, most of Dad's beloved Rock, Ground and Fighting types lay unconscious and still on the floor of the dojo, somehow overpowered by Nathan and Helene's teams. The five remaining members of my Spirited Six were noticeably struggling; so far the only causalities they had managed to elicit were Nathan's Butterfree, a Lilligant and a Helene's Serperior. These were largely down to the efforts of Kiba, who was sending out twisting and spiralling plumes of flame, practically barbequing the more fragile Bug and Grass types. While there were Pokémon injured and bleeding on both sides, my Pokémon were outnumbered. And while I stood there, panicking, trying to come up with a solution, the Golurk suddenly rose up to a frightening height, towering above me, casting me into the inky darkness of its imposing shadow.

"Golurk!" I heard Helene's voice and my heart instantly juddered in my chest. "Get that girl! Use Shadow Punch again!"

At Helene's command, the Pokémon suddenly darted towards me, its massive fists raised. I entertained visions of that terrifying entity squashing me with one attack, unleashing God knows how many more unspeakable horrors upon me. I backed away as fast as I could, my feet acting on instinct alone, my hands raising to shield my face. An odd notion swept over me as I did so. Would protecting my face even _help_?

"Blaze!"

I screamed again as another plume of fire suddenly roared past me. I could feel the air around me seem to dry out and crackle with the bursts of fiery embers that swept past. The Golurk let out a cry of surprise as the flames stopped it right in its tracks, hindering its movement, and I looked up to see the figure of a giant Charizard come to settle down beside me. It was growling, fixing the enemy Golurk with a mean stare, its eyes hardened. Helene looked enraged, screaming until her voice was so high pitched that it was almost impossible to decipher what she was saying. The Golurk lunged for the Charizard at her command, but the Charizard beat its massive tail off the dojo floor before blasting the incoming Pokemon straight in the face with such an almighty stream of fire that I was suddenly terrified the whole dojo would catch alight.

"Nikki!" I screamed, spinning around trying to find her. "Nikki!"

She was standing at the opposite end of the room, clutching at a bloodied gash on her arm. She looked white and petrified.

"Stop Blaze now!" I cried, as the smell of burning wood suddenly began tickling my nostrils. "The whole dojo's going to catch fire if you're not careful!"

Luckily for me, Blaze had somehow floored the great, hulking Golurk, knocking it almost completely unconscious without the use of another fire based attack. While Kiba was acting carefully, keeping his flames to a minimum and its use limited only to a close, secluded range to attack, ensuring that nothing could come to any more damage than already had. The dojo had almost caught fire once before and I didn't want it to happen again. Not this dojo… Not this wonderful dojo that symbolised so much to both me _and _my father. I felt oddly protective over it. In reality, I knew that it was just four walls and furniture, but at the same time, it was so much more than that. Those four walls contained hope! It contained hope for the future, for a better future for everyone, for an _equal _future for everyone. And what's more… it was a symbol of how people really _could _change… How my father really could change… I didn't know if I could entirely ever get the approval from him I so desperately yearned for, but all the same… I still couldn't let this dojo, or anything it stood for, be destroyed!

I looked back at Nikki. She was standing there, helplessly, completely locked in place.

"Nikki! Get out!" I yelled. "You need to get out!"

"Sienna…!"

"Get out!" I cried before she could protest any further. "Just… get out! Take everyone and get out! We… we can sort this ourselves!"

I didn't even wait to see how she reacted, simply spun around on my heel and faced the fray again. Helene was kneeling beside her Golurk and as my eyes fell on her, she recalled it, looking furious. I bit my lip and I was quickly distracted when I heard the howl of a familiar Pokémon coming from somewhere nearby. I turned around and saw Monty had come under attack and was now lying completely unconscious. This was entirely the work of that horrifying looking Klinklang that I knew belonged to Helene. I cursed under my breath, a vicious jolt of panic piercing me like an arrow through the heart, knowing I was down to just four Pokémon.

"Sienna,"

Just as the panic was threatening to overwhelm me, a voice came from nearby and I realised that without my noticing, Dad had come to stand by my side.

"D…Dad?"

His voice was calm, tinged with ominous finality. "This isn't looking good."

Even as he said that, I saw Aurora crumple to the ground, completely obliterated by the attacks of the Reuniclus. I was down to just Meloi and Kiba, and I didn't even know how many Pokémon were still able to fight on my Dad's side. I swallowed, my throat suddenly running dry.

"I… I know…" I said, my voice choked, feeling tears suddenly prick at my eyes. As I stood there, feeling helpless, my grief only seemed to intensify exponentially as I saw Kiba suddenly come under a ferocious attack from a Mandibuzz. It ripped at Kiba's soft orange fur with its sharp black talons and I could only yell in petrified horror as I saw splashes of blood splatter the dojo's floor.

"Is everyone out? Your friends?"

Dad was remaining stoically calm while I was practically hysterical. I had vaguely hoped his calm exterior would have held _some _influence on me, but in fact, it only served to make me worse. I opened my mouth to answer him, but I stopped dead as I heard the pained screech of an Ampharos. Right there, only mere feet away from me, all I could do was watch, a helpless observer, as Meloi suddenly fell to the ground. She had been hit right in the face by a merciless onslaught from the Krookodile. Every fibre of my being burned and ached with the desire to run forward and go to her, wrap my arms around every one of my injured Pokémon and protect them from all the horrors of this terrifying situation. But as my feet attempted to carry me forwards, my Dad reached out and grabbed my arm, rooting me to the spot.

"Don't be stupid," he said, his voice low. "You'll be ripped apart before you even take one foot near them."

"But my Pokémon—!"

"Sienna, are your friends out? Have they reached safety?"

"Huh…? I, uh… I don't know…" I floundered, turning around and glancing all over the dojo for any familiar faces. Unbelievably, where there had once been a pile of injured Pokémon and friends, they had all suddenly disappeared. Nearby, a door was ajar. A little jolt of relief stabbed me and I let out a quick sigh. "Y-yes! I think so!"

"Good." He said, his voice still quiet and low. "I don't want to bring anyone else into this. This is probably going to get ugly…"

"Ugly…?" I whispered hoarsely.

Nathan was slowly approaching us, a devious, twisted smile now tugging at his lips. He moved slow and deliberately through the fallen debris and unconscious Pokémon. He motioned to a Pokémon nearby, a Chandelure. He came to stand in front of us, the Pokemon following in his wake.

"Helene," he said, his voice tinged with glee. "Is the perimeter safe?"

Helene was grinning, a collection of Pokémon surrounding her. "If they even try so much as move an inch, my Pokémon have orders to kill them."

"K…kill…?" I breathed out in shock.

"How over-dramatic," Dad said callously, fixing his eyes on Nathan. "What do you intend to do with us now, Nathan? You have us trapped in here like cornered Rattata. What's the fun in that? You'll suck all the fun out of killing us,"

"Dad…" I said warily, my heart banging against my ribcage.

"You're mistaken, Cal Volbeda," Nathan said with a slight chuckle. "I fully intend to kill you. And I fully intend to have my fun while I do so,"

"Wh…what do you mean…?" I asked, my voice catching.

"Heh," Nathan looked up at the Pokémon he was currently standing next to, his eyes bright. He looked thoughtful, his fingers curled around his chin. "You know…" he said, a strange, conniving, sinister glee tinging his words. "They have some _very _interesting things to say about Chandelure,"

My nervous gaze settled uncertainly on the Pokémon that was floating idly by Nathan's side, wondering what exactly he meant. The Pokémon barely moved, its pupil-less eyes unblinking and vacant, hauntingly hollow and empty. The purple flames flickered gently, the faint crackling the only noise that reached my ears. I caught sight of Dad out of the corner of my eye. His voice may have remained calm the entire time, but his body language was betraying the front he was trying to convey. His chest was rising and falling erratically, his face was red and sweaty, and his eyes constantly darted between Nathan and Helene and the grounded Pokémon that littered our feet.

"Nathan…" Dad said warningly. "What are you doing…?"

"Chandelure…" There was a glint in Nathan's eyes, somehow reminding me of the burning embers in a smouldering fire. "They say their flames do not burn the physical body…"

"They… don't…?" I found myself saying hoarsely, looking at the trembling purple flames that burned on the Pokemon's curled spikes. The dancing flames held the same hypnotic quality of regular fire and despite the unusual colour of it, I wasn't overly frightened it. I imagined it to be no different than regular fire. In fact, I bet if I got close enough, I would feel their blazing heat just the same as if I stood close to Kiba as he used Flamethrower. Despite the obvious difference of colour, I couldn't distinguish anything special about this Pokemon's flames. However, Nathan had hinted at them being different. But for the life of me, I couldn't fathom _how _they could be so different…

Nathan's lips curled into a thin smirk, his pointed tongue slowly coming out to moisten his lips. He gazed down once at the collection of both unconscious and conscious Pokémon around us. Most of the unconscious Pokémon were mine and Dad's. In fact, every single Pokémon that was not unconscious belonged to either Nathan or Helene. I wondered if he had noticed this as he looked towards Helene, his thin smile slowly developing into a sly, knowing grin. She returned this grin, causing him to begin chuckling to himself. It was soft at first, barely even noticeable, but sinister, the noise of it sending a bizarre chill down my spine despite the suffocating heat of the room. Above me, a piece of ceiling that had been damaged in the attacks suddenly dislodged itself and fell to the floor, splitting in two with an ominous _crack_! And Nathan's laughter suddenly became twisted and maniacal.

"They say!" he cried out with unbridled glee, amidst crazed bouts of laughter. "They say that Chandelure..." he paused, just for a second as if he was savouring every moment he kept us in suspense. "…have the ability to burn out your very soul."

"What?!" I cried.

Nathan's smile was cruel and unpleasant, his hands rubbing together in sheer pleasure. As he fixed his eyes on me, his laughter fell away into a soft, low, ominous chucking. "If you are consumed by the fires of a Chandelure… your spirit will be absorbed into Chandelure! Your spirit will be trapped! It will be burned! Burned for all eternity! And your body… your body will be left behind, hollowed out and empty."

And with that horrifyingly stark revelation, his laughter became shrill, high pitched like the sinister noise of a disturbed child torturing a favoured plaything.

"My… my spirit…?" I croaked out, my hands automatically forming over my chest. My entire body suddenly ran cold, like the blood in my veins had been replaced with ice. I began to tremble, my entire body shaking so violently that I couldn't even control the impulse to scream. "No!" I cried. "No! No! No! No!"

Nathan's whole body had gone limp from his ecstasy, his movements suddenly jerky and erratic, and his laughter coming in irregular crazed bursts. "None of you will ever make it out alive!" he cried.

"So that's what you intend to do?! Burn everything to a crisp and take our souls with it?!" Dad yelled.

Nathan said nothing, but his crazed laughter was all the answer we needed.

"Y-you fool! If you set this dojo alight, you'll burn with it!"

Nathan didn't even seem to hear us. He was still chuckling, a devious smile stretching slowly over his face. He seemed to have relished every little bit of what he had just said.

"Sienna." Dad said, his voice low. "Get out."

"What?! No!" I protested at once. "I won't leave you here!"

"I'm your father, you do what I tell you." His voice had regained that oddly calm quality to it, and I found it barren of emotion.

"You can't pull that card on me _now_." I said, my own voice was thick and cracking with every word I attempted to speak. For some reason, I had tears in my eyes.

"Get out, Sienna." He said, in that same calm, composed voice. "I'll take care of Nathan. You get out."

"But Chandleure's flames!" I protested. "It… It sounds… it sounds like the fires of hell…! Y-you can't let yourself be taken in by that…"

My dad chuckled humourlessly. "My spirit is already black. It's beyond salvation. If it burns, so be it. I cannot expect forgiveness for the things I have done. If my soul burns for all eternity… I will consider it the work of karma."

"Dad, no!" I protested. My hands reached out and seized his arm, my fingers closing around him tighter than I ever expected. On my wrist, the red beads of my bracelet shone like flames. "You can't do this!"

"Sienna, I won't tell you again. Get out."

"And I won't tell _you _again. I won't leave you."

"Oh, how touching…" Nathan's voice was dripping with venom as he took a few further steps towards us. "But I'm afraid, you're too late."

"Too late…?"

"You won't escape the fires of hell." Nathan said. "You will both die here. And suffer a fate more horrible than anything you could ever imagine."

"You're going to kill yourself too!" I cried. "You're going to kill Helene! You're going to kill everyone! But… but at least… at least I know _you're _gonna suffer more than me! You're going to go to Hell for this, Nathan! You'll get off worse than me!"

"Don't count on it," Nathan grinned. "All those consumed by a Chandelure's flames are guaranteed a one-way ticket to purgatory, regardless of how "good" or "bad" they've been in their lives. And you know, I've always wondered what Hell would be like. I imagine it has quite the selection of interesting characters. And how lovely to spend all eternity wandering their fiery pits with the man who betrayed me?" His voice hardened, like shards of glass. "And the little girl… who ruined it all."

"D…Dad!" I cried out in fear, reaching out to him again. "What… what are we gonna do?" Tears were spilling over my hot cheeks.

Dad was still. Silent. He then looked at me, his eyes suddenly soft. Softer than I'd ever seen them before. He smiled, but it was limp. Weak. His mouth parted and he spoke one word.

"Pray."

Nathan's voice rose up again, loud, like the startlingly triumphant cry of a Braviary. His laughter filled my ears, chilling me right to the spine. "Chandelure!" he called out. The Pokémon instantly took to attention, its flames suddenly bursting upwards in plumes. I screamed as the purple spirals of fire shot upwards, but they died away again and became relatively still, as quickly as they came. Nathan paused, looking at me.

"Aren't you going to run?"

"Aren't you?" I asked bitterly.

"It's always more fun when they run," he said, shrugging. "Oh well. Never mind. The conclusion will be the same either way."

There was a moment of silence. Dad's hand found mine. I squeezed it. And I prayed.

"Chandelure! Inferno!"

I closed my eyes against it all as the entire room was suddenly ablaze and lit up with the towering rage of purple fire.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Well, this is it, guys. Free Spirits is reaching its final conclusion. After this chapter, there's only around three or four more to go to completely wrap up the entire series before I finally retire it and its characters. It's going to be quite emotional, and next chapter, you'll see what I mean. Expect a lot of tears xP **

**I figured that I would end on some symbolism. What better way to end a series focused on the importance of spirit than to threaten the very existence and safety of that spirit Sienna, Meloi and the other characters so deeply admire and want to protect? **

**I don't really have much to say, considering this chapter marks the real beginning of the end and further chapters will just be drawing the story to a close. Thank you all for your patience and please, sit back, relax and enjoy the end of Free Spirits. **

**Big thanks go to my lovely, dedicated reviewers, Shadow Serenity 57, MasterFreezeman, ArchXDeath, TwewyReaperGirl, Lmv16 and antonm1107! **

**Oh, and yeah, to anyone who hasn't already heard about it, I've published a new fanfction entitled "Don't Forget To Write" with my boyfriend, so please do check it out if you haven't already. *shot for shameless self-advertising* **

**That's all for now. OceanSpiral out! Until next time! **


	48. For the Greater Good

The first overwhelming instinct I had was that it was hot. However, the hot feeling was bizarre; totally contrary to what I had expected. At first, the heat was pleasant as it washed over me, like the feeling of sinking into a hot bath. For a moment, I just stood there, overcome with an overwhelming feeling of calm and clarity. My eyes were squeezed tightly shut but I was still conscious of dancing flecks of bright light across my vision. I also couldn't hear anything aside from a dull roar, like the feeling of having your head fully submerged underwater.

A thought calmly entered my head.

I was going to die.

I felt strangely accepting of this ultimate fate as the thought presented itself to me. Instead of fighting it, I began to think about what it would be like to die. At first, I entertained the hopeful thought that it would be like some sort of warm tickly feeling that would last all of a few seconds before I'd feel nothing at all. However, I very quickly realised how stupid I was being. Dying, especially in circumstances like this, could never be quick and painless. Dying here, at the fate of a Chandelure that would burn out my very soul would be nothing short of horrific. The flames would burn so torturously hot that they would burn the flesh from my bones within seconds. And even if by some miracle that I would survive the burning fire, there would be no guarantee of the safety of my soul.

Again, I hoped against all hope that it would be quick, and not like the slow, excruciating affair that I knew it was likely to be. I found myself wishing that someone up there would be merciful and let it be over quickly. Like slipping into a deep sleep. I even hoped they would spare me the whole 'life flashing before your eyes' thing. If I was going to die, I didn't want every failure, every hardship and every regret I had ever endured to be my final reminder of my presence upon this big empty earth…

"…enna!"

The noise punctured the deep, thoughtful haze I was trapped in, but I didn't want to pay any attention to it. Everything was starting to feel strange. The calm and comforting feeling that had lingered earlier was now dripping away. My limbs felt heavy and weak, numbed all over. I was conscious of some kind of pressure being exerted onto my arm, but I didn't have the faintest idea what it was. The heat around me was intensifying, suffocating and constricting, like I'd been tied up in thick ropes. The force around my arm suddenly tightened and before I knew what was happening, I was tugged forward. My whole body splayed and jerked erratically as I was pulled, my feet barely able to steady myself. I had no control over my body. I couldn't even open my eyes. A moment later, I felt myself fall.

I lay there for a few moments, my eyes still closed. Without any warning. I felt a wave of icy cold sadness burst over me. But this wasn't the sort of sadness that bit at you for a few seconds and then died away almost immediately. This was a type of bitter, crushing anguish that completely gripped me and held me captive. Sobs rose within me, but I couldn't expel them. Instead, they stayed inside, poisoning me. I felt helpless; at the mercy of every existential force in the universe. It was like I was the only person left in the world.

Something didn't feel right. There was a sickening squeezing feeling surrounding my heart and my head felt foggy, my thoughts incoherent and messy. My hand twitched and I could feel the wooden floor underneath my fingertips. I felt the heat of the room slowly consuming me. The darkness of my vision was suddenly invaded again by those whirling kaleidoscopic lights and they danced mockingly across my mind's eye. The flames were hissing and spitting, crackling, making noises like fireworks. It was almost hypnotic. As well as that, it inspired a weird nostalgic feeling. For a moment, I felt like I was seven years old again when I used to sit in front of the open fire. It's long boarded up now. Mum had it bricked up after one too many near-fatal accidents. She insisted that it was too dangerous to keep around with a young child and almost too many Pokémon to count. I had been so upset when she got rid of the fire. I loved sitting in front of it and experiencing its warm, soothing glow. It had been something I hadn't even realised I had missed until the days of huddling by a tiny fire in the middle of nowhere at stupid o'clock at night. And right now, I was feeling it again. The warm, soothing glow that reminded me of home.

I wanted to go home.

As I thought that, the pain came again…

I thought I was used to pain by now. I had experienced and somehow lived through more pain than I ever thought possible of any normal human being, let alone myself personally. I knew there was no way I could become fully accustomed to pain of any sort, but I had anticipated I could have learned to weather it better, like people with conditions who had to get used to chronic pain every day. But it wasn't happening. The physical and mental pain I had endured up to now was so strong and so awful I had feared on some occasions that it could even kill me. But that paled in comparison to now. Now, I _wanted _to die. Before, I had fought it all off so desperately, but now I just wanted it all to end. The pain and anguish that wracked my body was taking root deep within me. It felt like someone was trying to rip my heart out through my ribcage. My weakened joints burned, but wouldn't even twitch in an attempt to get myself away from the pain's source. I wanted to scream but no noise would come.

I could smell burning. It was thick in the air, pungent and unmistakable. But it wasn't the smell of burning wood. I was used to that, having travelled through countless woodlands with an over-excitable Fire Pokémon at my heels. This was definitely not the smell of burning wood. It smelled like burned meat. But who on earth would be cooking meat…?

A voice pricked up at the back of my mind. Get out. Get out. It was relentless in its ordering, but try as I might, I couldn't even acknowledge it.

"Sienna!"

This voice was different. As it sounded, I was able to feel something again. There was something touching me. Hands, maybe? I didn't know. Whatever they were, they were strong. My whole body was uprooted and I was pulled to my feet. I wasn't settled on them properly and I wavered slightly before my entire body completely slumped. I expected to hit the ground again, but I didn't. I fell against a soft weight, somehow remaining more-or-less upright. I could hear the voice again, but the words were indecipherable

My thoughts were rushing in and out of my head madly and I held no control over them. However, there was one thought that remained prominent throughout all the others. The sheer feeling of confusion as to what was going on. What was _happening_?

There was one other troubling thought that wouldn't leave me alone. Even despite the muddle of panicked, half-formed sentences inside my head, I couldn't mistake the presence of one other word. "Spirit". Over and over again, I thought of spirit. But what kind of spirit? And why that one word? What was the significance of that…?

"Sienna, you need to wake up! Wake up!"

My eyes felt like they had been glued together, but there was something about the voice that made me feel like I should really listen to it. I forced my eyes open obediently and immediately I was assaulted by a thick purple blur, a messy inkblot on my vision. It took several seconds for my eyes to adjust and to pinpoint details again. I was trapped, surrounded on all sides by billowing plumes of purple flames that roared like the bellows of a wild beast. My eyes burned even to look at my surroundings and I was filled with an icy cold fear at the untameable force that ploughed through everything in its path. My skin felt like it was blistering, my chest like there was a ton of pressure weighing it down and my mind swam with a thick, misty haze.

I looked up and saw eyes. Familiar eyes.

My father's eyes.

The smoke swirling around us was growing thicker, now obscuring any good view I could hope to get of his face. He was close, though. I knew he was close. He was so close that we were practically touching. "You have to get out!"

My dry, chapped lips parted. "Out…?"

"Chandelure's flames! They'll consume your soul, Sienna! Get out! You need to get your Pokémon and get out!"

"I don't know how…"

The blazing inferno of purple and black seemed to roar again as I spoke. The putrid smoke forced its way down my throat, making me gag and retch as I tried to take in deep breaths. The pain in my chest was excruciating and I wanted nothing more than to give in, lie down on the floor and let whatever was going to happen run its course.

"Sienna!" I felt force shake me. "You need to get out! Your Pokémon are right around you. You have to trust me! Just recall them and get out!"

"I…" My words trailed away hopelessly, but somehow my fingers drifted towards my belt and I touched the familiar metal of a Pokeball. The metal was blazing hot, the heat of it burning my fingertips. Still, I forced myself to hook out the capsule and hold it. I squinted through the fog and made out several dark shapes darting around. Pokémon. My Pokémon? I felt an instinct claw at me, itching and scratching with hooked claws, but I wasn't sure how to activate it. I found the centre button of the Pokeball and pressed it clumsily. The capsule burst open, surprising me, the whole thing nearly slipping from my sweaty fingers. A burst of red light flashed like a lightning bolt across the room and died away quickly. However, as the light faded, I felt the ball become weighted down. A sense of relief clutched at my throat. One of my Pokémon was safe!

It was the kick I needed. Coughing and spluttering, I pulled out every Pokeball I still had and called back my Pokémon. I couldn't see any of them so I had to act blindly, red beams of light shooting around the dojo erratically with varying success. The flames were spreading, licking up the walls and debris fell from the ceiling. Some pieces only missed me by inches. But eventually, after several haphazard tries, all six Pokeballs held their corresponding Pokémon safely.

No sooner had I attached the final Pokeball to my belt, my Dad suddenly lunged for me. His arms went straight around me and he was pushing me forward, ushering me through the flames. But I could barely even concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. My legs refused to obey what my brain was telling me and the pain in my chest was crushing. Everything inside me hurt, like my innards were being squeezed and tugged at. Like someone was trying to rip them right out.

And just when I thought I could bear it all no longer, I heard a bang and the noises of wood splintering. A rush of cool air suddenly hit me in the face, making me feel even dizzier than before. My eyes reluctantly opened into a blinding light and I staggered, totally unsure on my feet. I heard my name being called and finally I registered where I was.

I was outside.

"Sienna?"

I was blundering, but still somehow managed to turn around and look in the direction of the voice. The first thing I noticed was the flames, dancing and encroaching on the wooden walls of the dojo. They were scarily close, but for some reason, I found I wasn't afraid. I was looking up at my Dad. He was covered in ash and soot, his clothes singed and smoky and his face red and flushed. His hands, clenched around my wrists, were bloodied. The skin was peeling, revealed charred, sinewy flesh, but he didn't even seem like he was in pain. I instinctively tried to grab him, but he pushed my away with such force that I almost went sprawling onto my back.

"D…dad! What are you doing?!"

He wasn't even stepping away from the door.

"Making sure Nathan and Helene get what's coming to them."

"Get…what's coming to them?" My heart was racing, pummelling against my ribcage. "What do you mean? W-who cares about them?! We've gotta get away from the dojo!"

"If they're not stopped now, and stopped _permanently_, they're just going to come back and again and again. I don't want that. I can't let that happen."

"D-dad?"

"I don't have a choice, Sienna. Things just… things just have to be this way…"

"Be what way? I… I don't understand!"

"Sienna… Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good."

"Sacrifices?! What!? No! What are you talking about?!"

"Sienna, I… I'm sorry…"

I'm not entirely sure if it was the fact I was dizzy, faint and likely hallucinating from the smoke inhalation, or if it was the effects of the Chandelure's flames, but as I stared into my father's eyes, the sadness came back. The sight of his silhouette lit up by a flickering purple haze instilled an ingrained fear in me and for that moment, I could have sworn there were tears making tracks along his sooty cheeks. I stood there helplessly, entirely unsure of how to act or what to do. He was motionless, standing in the doorway of the flaming dojo while I stood safely to the side. I could vaguely hear my name being called, and I tried to speak, but my throat was raw and dry and I couldn't make the words come. I was totally blind, deaf and mute to everything around me.

"It all ends where it began," he told me, putting a hand on my shoulder. His hand felt strangely heavy. "Be proud. Be proud of what you've done. Be proud of who you are. Of what you became." He paused, and my entire body began to tremble uncontrollably like it knew something I didn't. "I…" he said slowly. "I know I am,"

"Wh…what…?"

But that was all he said. Suddenly, he took a step backwards. Back _into _the dojo, still alight with flames. Back into the dojo that I knew still contained Nathan, Helene and that Chandelure. As he stepped inside, my whole body suddenly went weak with fear. What the hell was he doing?! I lunged for the handle as the door swung shut again, but it stuck fast and refused to open. It was locked. I started to scream. I beat my fists on the solid wooden door, hoping to somehow make it cave in. For a short time, nothing happened.

And then it all happened at once.

I don't know if any of you have ever experienced an explosion, been in a building when it collapsed or lived through an earthquake. I've had to endure them many times over the course of being a Pokémon trainer and I thought I could never find anything that could be worse. But I did find something. And I can tell you now that nothing can compare or will ever compare to the horror of what I saw that day. Of the fate that befell the Free Spirits dojo.

Of the last day I ever saw my father.

I had taken a few cautious steps back, trying to deduce how, if at all, I could break back into the dojo, when a huge blast sounded from within its depths. The explosion ripped straight through the fragile shell of the dojo, wood and debris flying in all directions. I screamed, backed away as fast as I could as intense waves of heat billowed across the entire area. The flames roared, wind and fire crackling and rippling for what felt like could have gone on for miles. I staggered, fell backwards, and hit the ground hard. Despite the blistering heat and flames only a few short metres in front of me, I was gripped with an icy fear, like a hand around my throat. I was paralysed. Behind me, people were screaming. And I looked up and saw a sight that would plague me forevermore.

"Oh my God, no!"

Torrents of angry red flames had engulfed the building, threatening to completely obliterate the purple fire. The orange flames were spiralling and roaring so high up into the air that I felt they could have touched the heavens itself. I felt faint, like the slightest movement would make me collapse, but I still pushed myself to my feet. My eyes never left the burning building. The burning building that still contained Nathan, Helene, the Pokémon and my father.

"They're still in there…" I whispered, as the flames roared, the entire building caught in its grips. It looked like a living, breathing monstrosity. It looked like a hellish red blur, tinged with orange and yellow, its fingers reaching out to seize everything it could reach. It bellowed with such a ferocity that I feared that nothing would be left after it burned its course. "They're still in there!" I screamed.

My legs felt like jelly, but I forced myself to run. However, a pair of arms quickly grounded me and rooted me to the spot, strong, powerful hands gripping my waist. The touch made me panic and I fought the grip, kicking, screaming and hitting out. My efforts to break away were in vain, the hands holding me impossibly tight. A breathy, urgent voice rung in my ear. "Sienna! Sienna, baby, it's me! It's Elliot!"

"Elliot! No! Let me go!" I screamed, struggling furiously. "Let me go!"

He wouldn't let me go, his arms tightening even further. "Sienna! Don't you be stupid!"

He sounded angry, but I didn't even care. I beat at his hands with my fists in the hope he'd release me, but he still held on. "Sienna!" He started to physically drag me backwards, away from the flaming dojo, making me scream even more.

"Elliot!" I screeched, my throat ablaze. "Let me go!"

"Sienna, you can't go in there! I won't let you go in there!"

"But my Dad! He's still in there!" As I yelled those words, the horrible, ominous finality sunk in. A fresh wave of hot desperate tears broke over my face and my entire body went limp.

"Sienna, Sienna, baby, it's okay…" Elliot's voice suddenly softened, almost to a whisper, gently tickling my ears. "It's okay, baby… they'll get him out, I promise. We already called for the fire engines!"

"B-but, Elliot—! I…!"

"Sienna, if you go in there, you'll only get yourself hurt! Badly hurt! After everything your dad did to get you out of there, he wouldn't want you to put yourself in any _more _danger!"

I wanted to scream further, but it was then that the nerve-jangling wails of sirens cut sharply across my consciousness. Seconds later, an ambulance and a fire engine pulled up on the scene. As I saw them, the finality and the danger suddenly hit me like a slap in the face. I started to sob uncontrollably. Elliot was clinging onto me, but I didn't even register him. As Pokémon started to be released, mostly huge water types that belonged to those on the fire service, which began tackling the out-of-control blaze, my mind was racing, fear consuming me. "_What if they can't stop it? God, they could die! If… if they're not already dead! Oh my God… Dad!"_

As I stood there, manic thoughts rushing in out of my head, all I could do was cry. The image of that Chandelure was burned into my mind, haunting, horrific and nightmarish. Nathan's words chimed over and over in my head, a mad, mocking echo I was doomed never to be rid of.

"_If you are consumed by the fires of a Chandelure… your spirit will be absorbed into Chandelure! Your spirit will be trapped! It will be burned! Burned for all eternity! And your body… your body will be left behind, hollowed out and empty."_

Some part of me wondered how I had even managed to survive such an ordeal. Even looking at my skin, I saw it blistered and burned, tell-tale marks from the fingers of Chandelure's flames. I knew I had come into contact with them, yet I still seemed more or less intact. But I didn't know what would have happened to Dad, Nathan and Helene. They had been in there a lot longer than I had. And the explosion, whatever had caused that, had occurred right when they were trapped inside. That explosion, at close range, was probably enough to kill, or at the very least, seriously injure someone. Then there was the consequential fire and smoke inhalation from the explosion to contend with. And if they had somehow, miraculously, survived that, then there was still the matter of the Chandelure to contend with. Even if they had lived, if their souls had been taken by Chandelure… they were as good _as _dead.

The tears came again. I felt people tug at me, familiar voices in my ears, but I didn't care about any of that. None of it mattered. All that mattered was that burning building which in its fiery depths still held onto my father. As the flames raged, I sunk to the ground. I heard screams, shouted commands, the wails of sirens and the rush of water, consolidating into one furious blur of noise.

But it all dulled into nothingness as the shell of the building collapsed, huge puffs of smoke belching out as it fell entirely in on itself and crumbled away in front of my very eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Hey guys =) I'm so sorry this update took so long, but I've had a lot of university commitments and personal issues. Very serious personal issues, but it's okay, I'm getting better =D**

**I won't spend forever talking about this update since it does kinda speak for itself, but yeah... this is it. Free Spirits has reached its end and will be concluding within three chapters. After this, I'll be taking a slower approach to fanfiction as I'm going to attempt writing an entirely new novel =D**

**Thanks to my lovely readers and reviewers: antonm1107, Lmv16, MasterFreezeman, Shadow Serenity 57, TwewyReaperGirl and ArchXDeath. **

**I'll try get the next update out as soon as I can! Thank you!**

**OceanSpiral out!**


	49. Full Circle

I was sitting in an uncomfortable bed in the hospital's burns unit, propped up against a stack of pillows, when they told me.

"They found a body,"

Elliot's hand immediately tightened around mine. I didn't even look up at the faces of the sternly looking policeman and the younger one by his side as they spoke. Instead, I gripped onto Elliot and stared down at the plain white sheets. The words came out surprisingly easily. "It... it's my father, isn't it…?"

There was a pause, before the older of the policemen spoke. "No, miss. The body that was removed from the building was that of a woman."

"A… a woman…?" I repeated, raising my head to look at the policeman. "It's Helene…? Helene Fontaine? She… she died?"

"There has yet to be any formal identification of the body," The older policeman said gruffly. "Are you certain the individuals who attacked the dojo were escaped prisoners Nathan Clarke and Helene Fontaine? Is it possible you could have been mistaken?"

"I assure you, I was _not _mistaken," I said blankly.

The older policeman murmured something under his breath and scribbled something in the notebook he was holding.

"Do you have any other information?" I asked.

"Not at this present time, no." the older policeman shook his head. "Rescue teams are still currently exploring the wreckage of the dojo and attempting to establish the cause of the explosion. We'll be returning later to collect statements from all of you present at the scene."

"Statements?" Elliot's voice was stony. "Why?"

"In order to effectively piece together what happened."

"But I already _told _you what happened!" I protested. "Nathan Clarke and Helene Fontaine attacked us! They tried to _kill _us! They were using some weird freaky technology to control our Pokemon!"

"There is currently no evidence to support your rather… bewildering… story…" the policeman's eyes narrowed behind the notebook he was writing in. "Until we can find proof of what you say—"

"Let me guess, we're suspects?" I asked, feebly beating my fist into the bedclothes. "Unbelievable…"

The older policeman cleared his throat loudly. "Thank you for your co-operation in this no doubt difficult time," he said, before he motioned for the other policeman and the two of them made a swift exit.

Jasmine didn't even wait until the door had shut behind them before spitting out an indignant "How rude!"

"Jazz, those are policemen!" Nikki gasped, her eyes wide and fearful.

"They could at least act like a pair of decent human beings…" Jasmine muttered angrily, casting a look at me. "No other information 'at this present time'…" she said mockingly. "What rubbish! They _must _know something. At the very least, they've got to know why that explosion happened!"

I let the expectant silence hang heavily in the air for a few moments. "I… I think I know,"

I felt every pair of eyes in the room turn to focus on me. Even the nurse busying herself at the other end of the room seemed to slow down in her work, as if she too was listening in. The amount of attention I was suddenly under made my mouth run dry.

"Sienna," Elliot was looking at me warily.

I let go of his hand to run the smooth beads of my red bracelet between my fingers. The movement felt oddly soothing and calming. "I think… I think my Dad caused that explosion."

A wave of dissent passed through the room, complete with murmurs of disbelief and utterly confused looks.

"Why on _earth_ would your father do that?" Jasmine asked seriously.

I flinched a little at the harshness of her tone. "I… I don't know," I admitted. "I just… I just have a feeling…"

Everyone was quiet, waiting for me to elaborate. I didn't know exactly how to further explain myself and resorted to shaking my head violently to try and clear my head and order my thoughts. Elliot's hand closed around my wrist again.

"Sienna, baby, you should rest…"

"I don't wanna rest!" I said, snatching my hand away. "Look, I don't know, okay? It doesn't make any sense to blow up a building when you're inside it! But he's the only one who _could _have done it! Nathan was already using Chandelure, he had no need to do anything else! Helene wouldn't so much as lift a finger on her own without Nathan's approval, so I doubt it was her. Dad was the only one who _could _have done it!"

"But… _why…_?" Bailey asked, looking

His voice was hoarse and cracking and I immediately softened. I had remembered too late that I wasn't the only one hurting at the news my father was nowhere to be found. After all, Bailey had considered my father as a close personal friend and somewhat of a role model. The uncertainty surrounding my father and whether if he was alive or not was no doubt affecting Bailey too.

"Why would he even do such a thing?" Bailey continued, staring at the ground. His voice was thick with emotion and his hands looked to be shaking. The sight of him made my heart sore.

"I don't know, Bailey…" I whispered, shaking my head hopelessly. "I just don't know…" I swallowed a lump forming in my throat. There was something else I felt I had to say, but giving the words form was proving difficult. I ended up stuttering and stammering the words out. "He said to me just before he went back into the dojo that he had to stop them all permanently..."

"Permanently…?" Bailey's voice caught.

"Permanently…" I echoed, my head falling downwards. A memory resurfaced in me and I spat the words out bitterly, realising that understanding too late had come at a tragic price. "'There will be a price to pay to see this suffering end'…"

"W-what are you talking about…?" Bailey asked. As he looked up at me, I was shocked to see his eyes glimmering with unshed tears. A sickly, twisting feeling gripped my stomach. Just out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jasmine's hand cover Bailey's.

"It… It's nothing…" I whispered. "It's just that… it always seems to me that you can't ever… resolve something without having to give up something in return… Last time something like this happened, we lost that wise old Alakazam… And now…"

"Sienna, don't lose hope…" Nikki pleaded from across the room. "Y-your dad's a stubborn, s-strong guy, r-right? If you made it out okay, then t-there's a chance, right?"

"Yeah, there's always a chance…" Elliot said, reaching out for my hand again. I barely reacted as his fingers coiled around mine.

I decided to remain silent. I didn't want to admit what I truly felt. I didn't even think I _could _say what I wanted to say. What I believed, what I knew without really knowing… I didn't think I could say it. They wouldn't believe me anyway, I thought with a heavy heart.

Part of me couldn't blame them. However, the longer I thought about it and considered it, the more concrete the idea came to be in my head. Dad had looked so strong and purposeful in the last moments I had seen him. Defiant and confident, despite the tears running down his face. It was the look of someone who had steeled themselves to a fate. Someone who had accepted that things were going to be, and had to be a certain way. Every instinct inside me told me that Dad had blown up that dojo himself. Taken himself out with Nathan, Helene and all the Pokémon that lay in there in a last ditch effort to make things right. What else could he do, I reasoned? There would be no other way to stop them…

I had no physical proof, I knew that. But the words Dad had spoken to me just before entering the flaming dojo was all the evidence I needed. As they chimed inside my head, perfect and untarnished, I started to cry.

"'_It all ends where it began. Be proud. Be proud of what you've done. Be proud of who you are. Of what you became. I… I know I am_,'"

At this point, I just knew. I knew that those would be the last words I would ever hear from him. The last memory I would form of him. And when I cried, I wasn't sure I was crying for the fact I would never see him again, or the fact that I finally had what I had wanted and yearned from him for my entire life. Perhaps it was even a little of both. All I knew was that he was gone, and I wasn't sure that the fact the last words he ever spoke to me were the exact ones I'd waited to hear for seventeen years, made it easier or made it crushingly harder.

Time passed in a strange way from then on. I stopped believing what the clock was telling me after a while, thinking it too indecisive to pay any attention to it any longer. Sometimes, minutes would pass like hours, but other times, hours would pass like minutes. I grew sick of the plain white walls. I even grew sick of the sights of my friends. I wanted to be alone, but they refused to leave me, even concocting some odd 'shift system' that would allow some to rest and some to keep an eye on me. I didn't want to be 'kept an eye on' like some five year old child and begged the nurse to send everyone out for a while. She agreed, but after ten minutes of being alone with angry thoughts that snagged at me with hook-like claws, I pleaded for them to be allowed back in.

News trickled in frustratingly slowly. I flicked the small TV set in the room to the news intermittently, but the story of the dojo fire dulled into nothingness by late night. I wondered how many people had seen it on the news. Most of them probably weren't even interested, just catching it as they busied themselves making dinner or putting children to bed. I wonder how many of them thought anything more than "Oh no, how terrible…" and how many more of them would forget about it a mere few minutes after seeing it. It seemed so grossly and overwhelmingly unfair that something that impacted me so strongly was so insignificant and forgettable to the vast majority of people. I wondered how quickly it would be forgotten, filed away into the dusty recesses of memory banks alongside phone numbers, addresses and the names of old neighbours.

And then I wondered how long it would take _me _to forget. How long it would take me to lose that clear, untarnished clarity of the memory of my father's final words and the way he looked at me before he disappeared into the burning dojo. Inevitably, it would fade and maybe one day, I would struggle to remember it at all. Perhaps I'd have to fabricate details, view it as I _thought _it happened. One day, it would lose its purity and would become nothing more than a fleeting thought that visited me in the middle of the night. A half-formed wisp, a dream that slipped away into blackness once the harsh light of day broke through the curtains. The inkling that something _should _be there, but never quite being able to bring it back. I wondered what it would be like to forget. Would it be kinder, or would it only make it crueller? The thought of ever forgetting made me frightened, and I put my head into my hands and wept.

The next morning, the policemen came again. They had found someone among the burned out shell of the dojo. He was alive, the policeman said, but barely. The older one's face creased in confusion as he described the state the man had been found in. He was alive, and aside from the damage to his lungs from smoke inhalation as well as some serious burns, he showed no further physical damage. However, the policeman explained, there was something very 'irregular' about him. He didn't seem 'all there', the policeman said, his eyes moving away from my gaze. He seemed disturbed, like he didn't want to give up the information he was holding onto. I pressed him until he eventually elaborated.

"The man was alive, sure… But it was like he wasn't. The lights were on but nobody was home. His eyes… I've never seen such empty eyes before."

"I've only ever seen eyes like that on a corpse," the younger policeman chipped in.

"He just… didn't seem there," the older policeman said, shaking his head. "This blank look, wouldn't speak, wouldn't even make eye contact. It's like… Oh, no, it's ridiculous…"

I had pressed the policeman to explain what he meant.

"Like… there was no spark. Nothing going on behind his eyes." The policeman said. "Doctors suspect brain damage. He's in the hospital now. They're gonna nail him for arson, at least. Well, if he lives."

"They don't think he's going to live?"

"Doctors aren't optimistic." The policeman said. "Preliminary reports indicate that it is Nathan Clarke, the escaped prisoner from Unova, just like you said. However, we can't say anything for sure, not until we investigate further. But they identified the woman as Helene Fontaine, his ex-partner, I believe. We're liaising with the police in Unova to find out more before we send the body back to the family."

"She's got a family?" I had asked.

"Not much of one," the policeman said. "Parents died when she was young. They both died of disease. Her mum's sister took her in, so the body will go back there,"

I nodded slowly. "So… what's going to happen?"

"We need to undertake a thorough investigation," the police said sternly. "Including investigating all of you."

I glared at the policeman. "You think we had something to do with this? Nathan Clarke and Helene Fontaine were totally responsible for this! They wanted to hurt me and hurt my father because we actually tried to stop them—" I broke off abruptly, before thinking tactically. "Look, you know what? You wanna know the story? The whole truth? Speak to Lance."

"Lance?" The policeman said, frowning. "Elite Four's Lance?"

"Yes," I said slowly. "Talk to him. He'll explain everything,"

"Noted," the policeman said, ticking something off on his notebook. "Now, I'd like to take your statement…"

The statement taking process was long, arduous and far too probing for my tastes. I felt like I was the one on trial, not the victim who had likely lost a father. Eventually, we heard reports that there had been Pokémon found dead in the wreckage. Most of the bodies had been too badly burned to be identifiable, but a Chandelure was found dead under a pile of rubble. When I eventually summoned up the courage to tell the others about what Nathan had intended to do with the Chandelure, a shiver of terror went over everyone and Nikki burst into tears of fright. Bailey looked close to tears too, but contained himself when Jasmine pulled him into a hug.

Days passed and still no news came of my father. The man they had pulled out of the dojo who didn't seem 'all there' was identified as Nathan not long after he was taken to the hospital. Doctors couldn't explain what was wrong with him. He had entered some strange coma-like state and they weren't optimistic about waking him up. I didn't feel anything about that. I was too busy focusing on the mystery surrounding my father.

In the end, a body was never found. Not even the remains of a body was found. It was like he had simply vanished. The general consensus was that his body had simply burned to ashes in the flames until there was nothing left. A memorial service was held in Pallet Town after the investigation was officially closed and the burns I had sustained healed enough so that I could leave the hospital. Lance was a godsend, clearing everything with the local police after explaining the events of two years ago. To this day, I don't know exactly how much was told to the police, but I was forever grateful that it was an area of the situation I did not have to deal with. After the memorial service, we drifted listlessly around Pallet Town for some time, the days all melting into each other like an undistinguishable blur. Jasmine, Nikki and Scott all had to go home and Bailey had to stay in Goldenrod. Elliot came home with me, but not even him moving in and being around all the time was enough to bring me out of the depression I had found myself ensnared in. Life seemed to just move on without me.

Until, one day, a little over four months after the incident, I got a phone call from Bailey. He told us excitedly that the Free Spirits dojo had been granted the funds to be rebuilt after the parents of the children who attended it had pushed for it to be reopened. The media response had been huge, he explained, and donations were piling in to reinstate the dojo and provide 'a great service for the children of the community'. Bailey explained that the dojo was still technically in the Volbeda name and as such, needed someone to take charge, build it up and run it again. He admitted that he wasn't cut out for such a responsibility, muttering in an embarrassed fashion that he was also too busy making trips back and forth to Kanto to see Jasmine. I didn't pursue _that _particular matter at the time, making a mental note to quiz Jasmine herself at a later date.

"B-but, anyway!" Bailey cried. "I was thinking! Elliot told me one time that he'd really like to try teaching children about Pokémon. I really think he should give it some consideration. I mean, it's your dad's dojo, Sienna. It _should _stay in your family. I know you can't do it because you're going back to become a pastry chef…"

"No, no, I agree with you…" I said, shifting the phone into a more comfortable position. "Even if I wasn't studying in school, I don't think I _could _do it. I've no idea how to run something like that. Elliot would be a lot better suited for it. He loves Pokémon, he loves kids and he loves teaching. I think he'd love to do it."

"What would Elliot love to do?"

I squeaked as the phone was suddenly yanked out of my hand by a familiar figure. Elliot shot me a sly grin and pressed the phone to his ear. "Hey, Bailey. What's up? Hm? The dojo? Oh, that's fantastic! Wait, what? Someone to take it over? M-me? Why not Sienna? Oh… Yeah... Yeah, I get you. That is true… Well, I'd really have to think about it…" he glanced back at me momentarily. "The dojo _is _in her family name and I… God, I can't leave her. Alright. Yeah. Yeah… sure. Alright, talk to you then. Bye."

He ended the call and placed the receiver down. He stared at it for a few moments, before he turned to me. "Sienna…"

"It's a good idea!" I blurted out at once. "You've always talked about teaching as a career and now you could end up teaching about Pokémon! You've got a chance here, Elliot, to do something you've always wanted to do! You could live and work in that dojo and carry on my Dad's dream."

"He's your dad. _You _should carry out that dream."

"I'm not cut out for Pokémon training anymore, Elliot…" I said with a sigh, leaning against the kitchen countertop. "But _you_ are… you could do it. I know you could do it. I know you've always wanted to do something like this,"

"I couldn't leave you here… I couldn't leave you behind in Pallet Town while I was all the way over in Goldenrod."

"Well, the dojo probably won't even be ready for a good few months at least. I don't even know if construction's even _started_. Once I go back to school, I'll only need another year, year and a bit, maybe. It could work out really great!"

"Sienna…" he moved in close to me and touched my face. The softness of his fingers sent my cheek ablaze. "I couldn't… I couldn't be away from you. Not when you need me…"

"It's okay, Elliot," I told him, my whole face relaxing into his hand, like my face was designed to be able to fit it. "I'd really like to see the Free Spirits dojo back up and running someday. And there's no-one I'd rather have running it than you."

"W-well, I can't lie… Running a dojo for kids would be pretty awesome," he said with a short laugh. "Getting them involved with Pokémon at a young age, teaching them how to raise them properly… that's fantastic. More kids _should _be involved with Pokémon, regardless of if they end up trainers or not. I've always thought kids should be exposed to Pokemon. Maybe… maybe doing this would help achieve that…" he suddenly looked away. "But I… I couldn't leave you…"

"Elliot, it's okay…" I whispered.

"But me being away from you for so long… making you wait for so long until we could be together again… I'd hate it. And I know you would too. And who's… who's to say that after so long apart you might… not wanna be with me anymore?"

"You idiot," I smacked him around the back of the head. "I love you, you know? I kinda _really _love you and I always wanna be with you. I'm not gonna leave you just because you go to Goldenrod for a little while. People do long distance all the time. I mean, from the sounds of it, Bailey and Jasmine are doing that now too," I added with a giggle. "And besides, what's stopping me from coming out after I finish school?"

"But Sienna… I don't… I don't _want _you to come out after you finish school."

His response shocked me and I scanned his face frantically for any sign that would help me deduce what exactly he had meant. "W-what…?"

"No… it's entirely selfish on my part, but… I don't wanna go without you…" Elliot's voice was thick and choked with emotion. "In fact, I _can't _go without you…"

"Elliot…"

"I want you to come with me, Sienna…" he suddenly lunged for my hands, his eyes bright and shining with a light, a life, that I hadn't seen there for months. "Think about it. Think about it, baby! We… we could do it together…! Break out of this little town and build a new life for ourselves in Goldenrod! A new start! And we could do it together! You and me!"

"T-together?"

"Always." He grinned, gently kissing both of my hands. "Oh, Sienna… I'm fed up of hanging around here, with nothing happening, just _existing. _I… I wanna… I wanna live! I wanna get out there and make something of ourselves. I'm… I'm fed up for reaching for ceilings! I wanna reach for stars! I wanna reach for stars with _you_."

Tears were spilling out the corner of my eyes and I gripped his hands tightly. "Elliot, I…I… I wanna reach for stars with you, too… I really do…" I clung to him tightly, like a helpless survivor to a life preserver. "Oh, but Elliot… moving that far away… leaving our friends… our families… our responsibilities… Elliot, could… could we really _do_ something like that? Drop everything here, drop our lives here and go and run a dojo in Goldenrod City?" The idea sounded so ridiculous and yet so horrifically exciting that I burst into mad giggles.

"I don't see why we can't." Elliot was serious. "If we want to, if we really, _truly _want to, what's gonna stop us? We're adults now. We can make our own decisions about the way our lives should play out. Sienna, Goldenrod is a big place. We'd have the dojo to live in! I could get another job to support us if we have to and you could transfer schools! Sienna! Baby… if we want this… we could find a way to make it happen!" He paused, looking me straight in the eye. "Baby… do you want it…?"

"I… I do want it…" I croaked out, hardly daring to believe what was going on. "I want Dad's dream to carry on! I want out of this tiny little town… I want to get out there and do something for myself. And I want all those things with you."

"Exactly, Sienna!" he cried, cupping my face with his hands and kissing me on the nose, making me squeal with delight. "If we want it, the whole world out there is waiting! Nothing is stopping us! And if someone wants to stop us, then to hell with them! It's our lives! Let's make it for us…"

"Y-yeah… For us…" I grinned shakily and kissed him.

"Y…you sure you want this?" he checked.

"More than anything,"

He grinned, before his face suddenly paled a little. He suddenly looked incredibly nervous. "Well… t-then I guess there's only one thing I have left to do..."

"Huh?" I asked, confused.

"I've, uh… been waiting for a long time to do this, actually. I had hoped I'd be able to ask your father about this, but… Even though he's no longer with us, I know… I just know he'd be supportive. I just wanna do things the right way, you know?"

"Elliot, _what_ are you talking about?"

"I can't afford the actual thing just yet, but I promise the second I get money—"

"Elliot, I don't understand!" I interrupted, perplexed. "What are you on about?"

My jaw practically hit the floor as Elliot suddenly dropped down to one knee. For a moment, I panicked, thinking he may have hurt himself but he grinned reassuringly at me. "The dojo is in your father's name which then means it's going to go to _your _name once it's rebuilt. I technically don't have any ties to it unless it's official."

"Oh my Arceus…"

"I've wanted to ask you this for a very long time, but… I guess I was never brave enough… What we all went through four months ago… really just put things into perspective. I just… I just wanna keep you safe from everything and make sure you're happy. I love you, Sienna. I never ever want to lose you…"

"I… I love you too, Elliot, but I still don't—"

"Shh, woman, let me talk!" he grinned, reaching out for my hand. "Well, here it goes… B-biggest moment of my life right now." He laughed nervously. "I… I never thought this would be the way it'd happen, but oh well… To hell with tradition." He took a deep breath in and finally, I understood. "S…Sienna Volbeda…?"

I could barely even squeeze out the "Yeah…?"

"Will you marry me?"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Aaaaand yeah. Ending on a HAPPY cliffhanger for once =) It's not even a cliffhanger, 'cos we all know her answer =)**

**This chapter was a bit of a whirlwind and a whole mess of emotions xP I don't know what, if anything, it did to you guys reading it, but it had me an emotional wreck while I writing it. **

**So, this is the penultimate chapter, guys... Next chapter is the final one and then you have Epilogue Part One and Two and that's it. Updates may be slow cos I'm now officially on exam leave and have big exams on the 15th and 23rd, but after that, I will do my best to get everything up, ready and sorted =)**

**Oh yeah, the lovely TheNeverendingMeep wrote a lovely Free Spirits fanfiction entitled "The Spirit Carries On" set immediately after the events of the conclusion, so please check it out if you want to! I thoroughly recommend it =)**

**Credit also goes to the amazing Scheherazade's Sonata who designed and drew the awesome cover for the fanfiction!  
><strong>

**Thanks to my reviewers WildCroconaw, ArchXDeath, MasterFreezeman, Shadow Serenity 57 and TCoBlackRoses. Let's all see the ending of Free Spirits together, guys! Thank you all!**

**Onward! **


	50. Here's To Us

The kitchen was thick with the smells of boiling fruit and the heat from the cooker was making beads of sweat stand out on my brow, but I was so used to it now that I barely even noticed it. I handled my baking at home the same way as I did when I was still working in the professional kitchens, with a sort of nonchalant practiced ease, my fingers carrying out the actions quickly and efficiently, almost instinctively. Years of practice in both the workplace and at home had made this almost like second-nature. I knew this particular pie was a favourite dessert among the family and likely to go down a treat once it was presented at the table after the main meal. I hadn't made one since the last time Bailey, Jasmine, Nikki and Christian had come to dinner. That had been a rowdy affair, to say the least…

Despite the amount of disasters that always came with big get-togethers like that, I always wished I could see more of my friends. I knew that it just wasn't possible though, especially with everyone living in Kanto, and at opposite ends of Kanto at that. They had their own responsibilities too, as we all did; jobs and family commitments that took up a lot of time and money. It was rare enough to get the entire family around one table nowadays, let alone all the friends too. I made a mental note however as I began collecting the dough together for the pastry base to at least try and get something arranged. It had simply been too long. It hadn't _felt _like it had been too long, but when I thought about it, it must have been two years at least. That was the funny thing about time, and life too, really. It always seemed to rush past you when you were busy with other things. Then before you knew it, decades had slipped by…

I heard the front door suddenly swing open and bang shut. That wasn't unusual in itself, so I didn't pay much attention to it. The Free Spirits dojo, adjoined onto the house, was a hive of traffic. There were always people, Elliot especially, running in and out of the house looking for one thing or another. If it was any of Elliot's pupils, sent in on an errand, they normally left me alone unless it specifically concerned me.

"Hello?"

I recognised the voice immediately; certainly not one of Elliot's pupils. A smile touched on my lips as I heard the noise of shoes being kicked off. I always did love it when she came to visit me, especially now. I didn't look up at first. I kept my attention on kneading the malleable dough until I got it to the soft texture that I needed it to be at. A few moments later, the door to the kitchen opened and a rush of pleasant cool air invaded the room.

"Jeeez! It's like an oven in here!"

"Well, I _am _cooking in here," I replied, grinning.

"Let some air in, you must be roasting," She swept past me and pushed open one of the windows at the far end of the kitchen. Almost instantly, I felt the temperature in the room drop. "Oh, wait…" she grinned, turning to face me. Her red hair was windswept and messy, her face aglow and her hands sprawled protectively over a heaving belly. "You're so used to working in industrial conditions, this is probably nothing to you."

"You got it," I set the dough down and shot her a smile. "Well, you're looking well."

She looked embarrassed as she crossed to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. My hands, still sticky with dough flailed around uselessly in fear of getting flour on her dress. One that I'd bought for her, I'd noticed.

"Yeah? You think so?" she asked, as she pulled away.

"Oh yeah. Really good. Pregnancy glow and all that, you know?"

She laughed, gingerly lowering herself into one of the kitchen chairs and letting out a relieved sign. "I'm glad there's finally a positive symptom. What with the swollen feet, morning sickness, bloating and having to pee all the time, I'm glad there's _something _nice to show for it,"

"It'll all be worth it when you get that little baby in your arms after all of it," I smiled. "Trust me, there's no feeling in the whole world like it."

"Yeah, I guess so… Just…"

"Just…?" I prompted her when she trailed off.

"Just… just worrying…" I saw her hands tighten around her protruding belly as she spoke.

"About what?"

"Everything, really…" her gaze detached from mine and she looked off out the window. "Having them… raising them… all that stuff. Just all seems so scary… Not really sure I can do it…"

"Well, it's too late to turn back now!" I joked, but the worried look on her face made me soften. "Oh, sweetie, we're all the same on our first," I said, taking a seat opposite her at the table and reaching for her hand. "Babies don't come with manuals, unfortunately and as for labour… Well, you'll find out about that soon enough. Just remember, women have been giving birth since the beginning of time. And even if you don't know exactly what to do about it, your body does. So don't worry. When the time comes, it'll all be alright. You'll know what to do."

Her grip tightened around my hand and I squeezed back encouragingly. "God…" She said, looking at me in amazement. "When did you get so wise, Mum?"

"Oh, when you've been around as long as I have, you pick up on a few things," I said, pushing myself up from the uncomfortable chair. My bones creaked in protest with every movement. "Don't worry. You'll be just fine, love. Come on, come into the sitting room and we'll have a nice cup of tea, okay?"

"Sure. But here, let me make it. You've been on your feet all day cooking for everyone, so—"

"You will not, you're pregnant!" I slapped her hands away as she reached for the cupboard where I kept all the tea things.

"Hey, I may be pregnant, but I'm not an invalid!" she protested, pushing her way past and busying herself at the kettle.

"Well, neither am I!" I said, but I knew it was pointless to argue with her. She had unfortunately inherited the stubborn streak from my side of the family and once she set her mind to something, would always see it through. She had always been independent as a child, never letting me help dress her or bath her or feed her when she got to a certain age. That stubbornness had only seemed to intensify as she had gotten older too. My mum had just laughed and said that was a thing with first-borns; they always wanted to do everything for themselves. That was certainly true for my Naomi. She was a strong individual, and oddly enough, the only one of my four children to inherit my Volbeda red hair.

Red hair and stubbornness; that's a lethal combination. I think she spent too long taking a dip in your side of the gene pool. Elliot had joked once. I had laughed, of course. He always did have the oddest way of putting things. The other three children took more after Elliot, laid back and easy-going, but Naomi had always been different. I loved each of my children dearly, but there was a particular closeness between myself and Naomi. I wasn't sure if it was just down to the fact she was my eldest, or like Elliot thought, she reminded me of myself. I suppose those could be potential explanations, but the more I mulled it over, the more I started to develop my own theory. Perhaps it wasn't that she reminded me of myself, per se. Maybe it was more that she reminded me of my father…

I hadn't thought of my father in some time. Maybe the odd fleeting thought here and there, but sometimes I would spend months, even years without him ever crossing my mind. Don't get me wrong, his memories were always there, but as time passed and we went through the hassles and stresses of new jobs, weddings, births and children growing up, everyday life had a tendency to push away everything else away. You couldn't confine yourself to living in the past, not with children to bring up who needed constant care and attention. Every now and then, though, I could bring him back. I could bring him right in front of my eyes again, like he'd never left. But I could only do it when I really wanted to. There was simply too much else to think about and remember. The rest of the time, his memories slumbered in the back of my mind, like the comforting feeling of having someone watch over you while you sleep. You didn't always know they were there, but they were. And that's what mattered.

I crossed to the living room while Naomi took care of the tea-making. I looked around the messy living room, strewn with papers and books and whatever else that we'd forgotten to put away. There was a bookcase slotted into the corner of the sitting room and a collection of forgotten mugs were congregating on one of the shelves. I groaned. Any cups that were left around the house always seemed to attract more to their masses until I was sure the things were breeding somehow. I reached out for the offending mugs but was quickly distracted by the sights of the familiar treasures that lay on the middle shelf. Everything there was arranged haphazardly, several items back to front or fallen over, completely at the mercy of the trials of the everyday. I started moving everything around so they stood properly, like soldiers in an infantry line. Wedding photographs. Letters of acceptance. Photographs of newborn children. Family portraits. All the normal things that you would expect to see in any normal family home. But there were other things too; old badge cases that held onto dusty medallions, a pink Clefairy doll missing an arm and half of its tail hanging off, a dog-eared photograph of friends on the sunny shores of Slateport, a Mareep mail, never written on, newspaper clippings of the re-opening of the Free Spirits dojo; and finally, a red beaded bracelet peppered with soft painted flowers…

"Amph?"

"Son of a—" The sudden noise startled me and I knocked over the badge case I was trying to manoeuvre around to face forwards. A Cascade badge fell out of its plush interior. I quickly stuffed it back inside and turned around too look for the source of the noise. Meloi was sitting on the sofa in the centre of the room, staring at me quizzically. There was a half-eaten berry hanging gormlessly out of her mouth. "Meloi, you scared me." I said, pretending to yank the berry from her mouth. She squeaked indignantly and quickly swallowed down the berry, making me giggle. I sat down next to her and gave her a fond pat.

Naomi pushed her way into the sitting room a few seconds later with a tray of tea and some biscuits arranged prettily on a plate. At the sight of the biscuits, Meloi instantly perked up and snapped at the spare ones. When that failed and I pulled the biscuits from her reach, she resorted to simply trying to grab them right from Naomi's fingers. Naomi giggled delightedly as the Pokémon tried to clamber all over her trying to pinch the biscuits even before she raised them to her mouth. "She never changes, does she?"

"Mind her, Meloi, she's pregnant!" I told the Pokémon, eventually getting her to calm down. "And yeah, she's ever the spirited one. Don't count us oldies out, you know? Meloi keeps her own grandchildren in line, just like I will with mine."

Naomi giggled. "I just love how you and Meloi are still together after all this time, Mum. You're still as close as ever you were."

"I'm close with _all _my Pokémon, silly," I grinned, snapping a biscuit in two and tossing one half to Meloi, who hoovered it up in about five seconds flat. "But you never forget the bond you have with your first Pokémon. Meloi and I have always been together and we always will be. I don't think that'll ever change."

There was a silence for a moment, broken only by the noises of loud chewing as Meloi stole another biscuit and crunched it up, spitting crumbs all over the carpet. Naomi was dipping her biscuits in her tea, an infernal habit she had picked up from her father and had caused way too many upsets in the past when the biscuit ended up at the bottom of the mug. She bit off the soggy bit, swallowed it down and then spoke suddenly, as if an idea had just occurred to her. "I remember what you told me on the day I picked out Moss from Professor Elm's lab."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. You said 'You're not just choosing a Pokémon. You're choosing a lifelong partner. A friend. Someone who you'll share every experience, both good and bad, with for the rest of your life. So, choose well and always remember to treat them right'." She paused for a moment. "Well, you were right. You've been with Meloi all your life, after all…"

"And just like you'll be with Moss all your life. And how your children will be with _their _Pokémon all their lives. Pokémon…" I chuckled a little. "Your granddad once said that 'your Pokémon aren't just Pokémon… they're our precious friends. Friends that are going to be with us, no matter what we do or what mistakes we make in our lives. And those of us lucky enough to learn their company should be eternally grateful for every second we have with them'." I felt a smile tug at my lips. "Because… because we're always going to be together…"

"Granddad knew what he was talking about, didn't he?"

"That he did, funnily enough." I smiled, glancing at Meloi again. In that moment, as she danced around Naomi, begging for more biscuits, she looked as young, fresh, innocent and _spirited _as she ever had done. I touched my face and felt the deep wrinkles eroding my skin. I knew my once fit and slim body was getting older and plumper by the day, and don't even get me started on how forgetful I had been getting recently. The stresses of working, marriage, children, raising a family and day-to-day family life had not been kind to me. As the years piled on in what felt like merely seconds passing, sometimes I had days where I was so exhausted that I felt about twenty years older than I actually was. But Meloi… she had never changed. Not one bit. She was as strong and nimble and quick-witted as the day I had taken her as an angry little Mareep from Professor Oak's lab, all those years ago. Time had raced by, babies were born, children grew up and we loved, and lost, people around us. Time never waits for anyone. We have to make the best with what we're given. And as I looked at my beautiful daughter, pregnant with my first grandchild, I knew that I had done alright, really.

Life is what you make of it, after all. I had made of mine four beautiful children and a wonderful husband, and I was blessed with the fortunes of a good home, good family and good friends. And of course, my Pokémon. Meloi butted her head into me, still eager for attention and I smiled as I looked into her eyes. My Spirited Six had been one of the best things that had ever happened to me. My Spirited Six – Meloi, Aurora, Monty, Kiba, Cairo and Indigo – had given me the stepping stones I needed to get the life I had always wanted. They were my friends as much as Nikki, Jasmine, Scott and Bailey were. They were as much my family as my husband and children were. My beautiful family.

Meloi, not satisfied by the limited attention, started baying incessantly. I tickled her under her chin and a thought struck me. "_My spirited one… You were the one who started it all. Thank you. Thank you for everything you did. For everything you allowed _me _to do. You gave me this life. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have this and God knows where I would be now. You gave me my family and you gave me my friends. So, here's to us. Here's to everything we've gotten through together. Here's to the past years with you. And hopefully, so many more to come. So many beautiful, amazing, incredible years to come. Thank you, Meloi. Thank you for always being my spirited one."_

I leaned in a little closer so our faces touched.

"_And most importantly, thank you for helping me find _my _spirit."_

**_Free Spirits_**  
><strong><em>Fin<em>**

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

**Oh my goodness... It's done... It's finally over...**

**I, uh... yeah xP I don't quite know what to say xP This is the last chapter for Free Spirits, there will be an epilogue and credits 24 hours after this has been published. I can confirm that this is the LAST instalment of the Spirited series and it will not be revisited unless I take the urge to randomly rewrite stuff...**

**I know this chapter was a bit of a jump in time and all that, but I've had this scene in my head for so long that I felt it was only right and decent to end Free Spirits like that. So yeah xP Hope you've all enjoyed this and I'll see you in the Epilogue and Credits =)**

**Thanks to MasterFreezeman, Shadow Serenity 57, ArchXDeath, The Neverending Meep, TwewyReaperGirl, TcoBlackRoses, Lmv16 and WarriorSwift for reviewing =)**

**Cheers everyone, you've been amazing. Thanks for sticking with me =)**

**This is OceanSpiral, signing out. **


	51. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_**Elliot Wood and Sienna Volbeda married on the 21st August 2015.**_

_**They described the wedding day as 'the best day of their lives'**_

_**They are still as much in love as when they were teenagers. **_

_**They went on to have four children. **_

_**Sienna achieved her dream of becoming a pastry chef, working in some of the best restaurants in Goldenrod. **_

_**Elliot moulded the Free Spirits dojo into one of the most respectable training houses in the whole of Johto. **_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Bailey Gray and Jasmine Moore started a relationship not long after Sienna was discharged from the hospital. **_

_**After a rocky start and several months of keeping it secret, they married on the 4th July 2016.**_

_**Their marriage is full of bickering and joking, and Jasmine claims she wouldn't have it any other way. **_

_**They have one son. **_

_**Despite her initial reluctance to entrepreneurship, Jasmine became a successful businesswoman, marketing a popular line of hi-tech trainer goods. **_

_**This led to a multi-million business that gave the Grays financial stability that rivalled even the Moores' success. **_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Christian Hart and Nikki Harper were married 29th August 2014.**_

_**Their wedding was a small, private affair for select friends and family.**_

_**They have twin daughters.**_

_**Nikki took her piano playing to a professional level and pioneered a unique style of contest battling requiring Pokemon to match their moves to the speed, tempo and style of music played by instruments their trainers use.**_

_**Christian enjoyed a further stint of fame and celebrity status before finally retiring from the Contest Circuit in his late thirties to tutor his daughters.**_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Scott Harper never married.**_

_**However, he went on to become Kanto's longest unbeaten Champion.**_

_**And once he eventually left, he opened a notoriously tough Gym overseas.**_

_**He was rumoured to only give one challenger out of a hundred a badge.**_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Suzanne Volbeda is happily retired, and still living in Pallet Town.**_

_**She continues to breed dog Pokemon and is known as one of the most reputable breeders in all Kanto. **_

_**She remarried in the years following Sienna moving out and never looked back.**_

_**Her favourite way to spend time is by spoiling her grandchildren. **_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Nathan's soul was partially consumed by the Chandelure's Inferno. **_

_**He went on to spend a short time in hospital before dying of massive organ failure.**_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Helene's body was returned to Unova and her ashes scattered over the sands of Undella Bay.**_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Lance retired from the Elite Four after over thirty dedicated years of service.**_

_**He moved back home to Blackthorn City and took over position of the Dragon Elder when his grandfather passed away.**_

_**Lance takes continued glee in the annoyance this appointment caused Clair.**_

_**He currently divides his time between his duties as a Dragon Elder, and showing his nieces and nephew the wonders of Dragon Pokemon.**_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Professor Oak's lab was taken over by his grandson Blue when he became too old to run it any further.**_

_**Sienna still credits Professor Oak as one of the most influential people in her lifetime.**_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Will Brennan vanished after being released. He was never heard from again.**_

_**Rumours say he released his Pokemon and disappeared into a life of solitude.**_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Charlee Frew gave up on the life of a rogue trainer.**_

_**She reapplied for a trainer's licence and became law-abiding once again.**_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Cal Volbeda did not die in the explosion in Goldenrod City. **_

_**He took the opportunity to slip away undetected. **_

_**He lived out the remainder of his days alone in a small village in Unova.**_

_**He had no further contact with his family.**_

_**He was never able to meet his grandchildren.**_

_**Sienna ensures his ideals and memories live on in the teachings of the Free Spirits dojo. **_

_**She never forgot his sacrifice. **_

_**.-.-.**_

_**Meloi continues to live with Sienna.**_

_**As do the five other members of the Spirited Six; Aurora, Monty, Kiba, Indigo and Cairo.**_

_**They enjoy the life of luxury being fawned over by Sienna and her family.**_

_**Sienna is forever grateful for every moment she has been able to spend with her beloved friends. **_

_**Although not the path she ever expected to follow, she is glad she was able to walk the road as a Pokemon trainer. **_

_**Sienna and Meloi were together right until the very end.**_

**_.-.-._**

_**The Spirited Series  
><strong>__**Fin.**_


	52. Credits

**Credits**

**Hey everyone, OceanSpiral here. Well, doing credits isn't something I'd normally do, but I have a lot of people to thank and I didn't really want to impact on the end of the epilogue. So yeah, I thought I'd do it here. Apologies to anyone who may have thought this was another chapter xP**

**Okay, so that's it. Free Spirits is finally over. When I first started writing Spirited in July 2010, I never anticipated I would even finish it completely, let alone be publishing the final chapter to its _sequel _almost three years later. I can honestly say, writing fanfiction has been one of the best experiences of my life. It's allowed me to really grow as a writer and develop my styles and be influenced and improved by so many other great talents. I can sincerely say I have enjoyed every second of writing about Sienna and Meloi and their mishaps. I can only hope that you, my wonderful readers, have enjoyed reading about them just as much. **

**Thanks so much to everyone who read the Spirited series and who've been with me since the very first chapter was published so long ago. Special thanks go to the wonderful plethora of friends I've made over my time as a fanfiction writer. **

**Shadow of Eckhart, who served as my evil editor and who often used questionable methods (bribery/blackmail) to motivate me to get my chapters out. **

**Sunbean, who brought me into the wonderful community of Pokemon fanfiction writers that I know now and whose awesome stories influenced me to try and get better with my own writing. **

**The Neverending Meep, who's had to put up with more than his fair share of my whining, moaning and complaining but who always helped me out with beta-reading and plot holes if ever I needed it. **

**Syzdoth, whose story 'Feather Head' was the initial inspiration of me ever getting a fanfiction account and writing Pokemon fanfiction. **

**All the members of Sunbean's Forum of Wonder and Excitement: Sapphire'sDestiny, DarkAngelicEevee, MortalHeartImmortalSoul, Lunius, Puniful-Teakat, Clear Skydancer, 4Drew, Scheherazade's Sonata, Ziposaki, TaichiWind and Timberstar for simply being some of the best people I've ever met!**

**To the Elliot to my Sienna, my supportive and wonderful boyfriend, MasterFreezeman. Without you, I doubt this would ever be finished. Thank you. I love you =)**

**And finally, thank you to everyone who's stuck with me through the roller-coaster of a ride that has been the Spirited series. Whether you were here from the start or joined midway through or came after the fact, thank you. Thank you for making it awesome. Here's to you for making it all the way with me! Cheers!**

**This is OceanSpiral, signing out for the last time. **

**Stay spirited, everyone. **


End file.
